


Fraying at Both Ends

by jgjbanker



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:40:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 35,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29612331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jgjbanker/pseuds/jgjbanker
Summary: Matt Casey knows that Sylvie Brett has moved on from him with Greg Granger.  But when a high rise fire forces 51 and 40 to work together, what will the outcome be?
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey, kell - Relationship
Comments: 355
Kudos: 283





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new story. This will be a multi chapter story, but I promise it won't be as long as The Night That Changed it All. Since Chicago Fire is going to be off the air for this week, I needed something to occupy my time with, and what better thing to do than to write about our favorite couple? Hope you all enjoy!

Fraying at Both Ends

As soon as Casey saw the apartment building up ahead, his heart sank into the pit of his stomach. Years in the CFD and many more as Captain taught him one thing…trust your gut. And right now, unfortunately, his gut was telling him this call was going to be bad. 

As soon as he got out of his vehicle, he looked up, mentally trying to count the number of floors above him. Losing count at 20, he noticed smoke coming out of the middle floors, which only meant one thing. People were going to be trapped above the fire.

Moving over to Chief Boden, he got there at the same time as Severide. They both heard the Chief call in another company, bumping the fire from a one alarm to a two alarm fire before anyone from 51 ever stepped foot in the building.

“Casey,” Boden commanded. “Take your men up and find out where the fire is.” The Chief and his Captain shared a look before Casey turned to instruct his men. “Severide, I need your folks to help with evacuations above the fire, but be ready to move down if Casey needs you.”

Nodding, Severide turned to get Squad 3 ready, just as Casey spoke to 51 and 81. “Okay everyone. Mask up. We are heading up to find the fire. DO NOT use your oxygen until we get to smoke.” Turning, he turned to Stella. “Kidd, you are with me. Gallo, you are with Hermann.”

As all of his team gathered their gear, Casey reminded himself not to look at Brett before he went in. It was something that they had started, without even meaning to, about two years ago. But since Brett was with Granger now, it wasn’t his place anymore. When his team was ready, they all made their way inside the building, trying to work around the enormous amount of tenants coming down the stairs. 

“How many floors do you think this building is Captain?” Kidd inquired.

Running a few feet to his right, Casey stuck his head into the open elevator door that sat at the lobby level, idled due to the smoke alarm. When he saw the number, he cursed under his breath.

“28 floors everyone.” He yelled before taking a breath. “Let’s move!”

___________________

Sylvie Brett stood on the street, helping to pull out all the supplies they had, wondering why Matt hadn’t looked at her. They had been doing that for a couple of years now, and it was something they didn’t stop even when she told him she needed space. But today, for some unknown reason, he rushed into the building without once turning her way.

Throwing the supplies she had in her had onto a gurney, she said a quick prayer for Casey and all of 51.

Seeing her partner’s eyes closed, Mackay spoke up. “You okay Brett?”

Opening her eyes, Brett nodded once before she ran into the ambulance to retrieve more supplies. While she grabbed every thing she could out of the bins and tubs, she heard more sirens coming from the distance. When she jumped down from 61’s doors, she saw it 40 who was coming to assist.

_Great,_ Sylvie thought. _Now, not only will I have to worry about Matt and everyone else, but also Granger._

______________________

As soon as 40 arrived on the scene, Greg Granger jumped out of his rig. After glancing around for a few seconds, he spotted Brett at the back of 61. Smiling to himself, he made a beeline towards Boden that took him by her.

As soon as he got a few feet away, he called out to her. “Brett, nice to know I get to help out 51 today.” He said, smiling.

Sylvie didn’t have to force a smile, as it came easily with Granger. Even though they had only been on two dates, she liked the Lieutenant from Firehouse 40. She wasn’t sure if there was a future there, but she was definitely willing to let things play out and see.

“You better hurry Granger.” Sylvie said jokingly. “Boden doesn’t like tardiness.”

Pulling his helmet a little lower, Granger smiled one more time before running over towards the Chief.

____________________

Casey was leading 51 up the stairs as quickly as possible, a task made more difficult by the amount of people trying to come down them at the same time. When they reached the 12th floor, Matt took a second for a deep breath.

_Man, I am not as young as I used to be,_ he thought.

Seeing the smoke more prevalent on this floor than others they passed, Matt made the call. “OXYGEN ON 51!”

While he turned his unit on, he heard his call echo down the stairs to the rest of his team.

With one quick breath of the fresh and cool oxygen from his mask, Casey pulled open the fire door to the 12th floor.

________________

Severide and the rest of Squad 3 were half a floor below 51 and 81 when they saw them enter the 12th floor. Severide keyed his mic, letting Boden know where they thought the origin of the fire was. After that was complete, he turned to his squad. 

“Let’s go guys! We need to make up some time.”

With his orders known, all of Squad picked up the pace to get to the higher floors.

Casey, on the other hand, had just instructed everyone to break up into pairs and go door to door in search of the fire. Just then, Boden keyed his radio and told him that 40 was their backup and was on the ground floor if they needed anything.

_Shit,_ Casey said to himself. _That means Granger is here._

It wasn’t that he had anything personal against Lieutenant Greg Granger. In fact, he had heard nothing but good things about the firefighter. But Granger being with Sylvie instead of him, well, that was another story. Not that even THAT was Granger’s fault. But Casey knew that Sylvie Brett held his heart, and that wasn’t going to change regardless of whoever they were each with.

He was knocked out of his moment of reflection when he heard Hermann over the radio.

“Captain, I think we found the fire. Apartment 1224. Door is too hot to even stand near.”

Keying his radio, his orders came easily. “Mouch, you and Ritter go grab the building’s fire hose. Hermann, Kidd and I are on our way.”

They were half way down the hall when they all heard Boden come on the radio. “Casey, you all be careful. Let me know what you find ASAP. We don’t have an aerial that will reach that high, so it will be up to you to get the fire out.”

Kidd and Casey got to the source of the fire at the same time as Mouch and Ritter.

“Mouch, test that hose down the hall first. Let’s make sure it will work.”

Ritter quickly ran back to where the fire apparatus was installed in the wall, hitting his radio when he was there. “Okay Mouch, just let me know when you are ready.”

Turning to face away from everyone, Mouch called back over his radio. “Okay kid, hit it.”

As soon as Ritter turned the handle for the water, he saw the hose become full. He kept his hands on the handle, and as soon as Casey told him to shut it off, he did.

“Ritter, you stay ready.” Casey radioed. “Wait for my signal to turn the water back on.”

Glancing once at everyone around him, they all moved further down the hallway. “Mouch get ready, I am about to breach.”

When Casey closed his eyes for a second, all that he could see was Sylvie’s beautiful face smiling at him. Shaking the image out of his head, he struck the door with his ax as hard as he could.

_________________


	2. Orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the fire worsens, Casey chooses to make an order he knows may backfire. Can Boden and Severide figure out a way to get him out of it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 2! I appreciate all of you who have checked out my new fanfic, as well as commented. The fire scene will last a few more chapters before we move on from it, so hold tight. There will be a LOT going on as we move forward. Hope you all enjoy!

As soon as Casey’s ax handle hit the door in towards the apartment, a huge fire ball blew out into the hallway. Momentarily knocked off his feet, Matt hurried to stand back up, taking one glance inside the unit.

All he saw was fire…everywhere. He wondered for a brief second if this was what hell looked like, because it sure looked like what he imagined. Not that he hadn't seen fires before, but he would be hard pressed to remember a fire this strong in a single room. Keying his radio, he called Mouch over to the door and told Ritter to be ready. As soon as Mouch was in position, he told Ritter to open the valve, with water flowing towards the blaze within seconds.

Keying his mic once again, he reported back. “Chief, fire is in unit 1224. We have got a hose on it now, and are going to start checking the rooms around it.”

“Copy that Casey.” Boden replied nervously. “Let me know if you need additional units.”

As Mouch worked on the fire, Casey called over his radio, telling them to pair back up and check the adjoining apartments. Right before he turned to Kidd, he added one thing. “Everyone be alert.”

________________

Ten stories above them, Squad 3 was going door to door to make sure everyone was out of the building. They had already done 6 floors, and Severide was hoping to get to 12 to help Casey out as soon as possible. It wasn’t too often that you could hear the FLAMES over the radio, but when Casey was talking to Boden, that was all that Kelly heard.

Turning to all of his guys, he urged them to hurry. “Let’s go people. We got 10 more floors to go to get down to everyone else.”

Seeing Squad pick up the pace even faster made Severide proud. He didn’t care what anyone said…51 had the best firefighters in all the CFD.

____________

On the 12th floor, Casey and Kidd had just moved to Unit 1222. Taking off his glove, he felt the door knob for heat. 

“Shit!” He said, to no one in particular, as he felt his fingers burn on the metal. Turning to Kidd, he simply nodded. “Chief,” Casey called out over the radio. “Adjoining apartment’s door is hot. Uh, unit 1222.”

“So is 1226.” Hermann called out.

On the street, Boden looked up, seeing the smoke coming out of the building intensify. _Damn it,_ he thought to himself. They had ONE hose on a fire that was fully involved in not one, but three apartments.

Just then, Severide came on the radio. “Hold tight, Casey. I got an idea. Will be down in a minute.”

Letting his hand stroke his chin, Boden wondered what Severide had in mind. Turning, he looked at Granger from 40, who looked like he was raring to go in.

“Severide. Tell me what you need.” Boden asked immediately.

It took a few seconds before Severide came back on the radio. “Chief, if someone can bring a couple of concrete saws to the 13th floor, I think I can get some more water down to 12.”

Immediately, Boden knew what Severide was thinking. Turning to Granger, he simply nodded.

“Got it Chief.” Granger replied. “We will take care of it.”

Granger grabbed one of his men, and pulling the concrete saw from Firehouse 40’s squad vehicle, and also the one from Sqaud 3’s. He and the other fireman went down to one knee to put on their masks. When he stood up, Granger saw Brett looking at him, worry showing on her face. With one quick thumbs up, he and his partner headed into the building.

___________________

“FUCK!” Casey yelled as the flames from unit 1224 whipped outside the door. Glancing over at Mouch, he could see the worry on his old friend’s face. 

“Mouch, let me have the hose.” Casey yelled out in order to be heard.

“No Captain, I got it.” Mouch replied, the words not matching the tone in his voice.

Casey appreciated Mouch’s response, but he wasn’t going to let Trudy be a widow. Not today. Not if he could help it. “That’s an order Mouch! Give me the hose.”

Mouch looked first at Hermann, who simply nodded. Seeing this, Mouch agreed. “Okay Captain. Tell me when you have control.”

Picking up the hose off the floor behind Mouch, Casey got it solidly in his hands until he was behind his co-worker. “On the count of 3 Mouch.” Casey yelled. “One…two…three!”

At three, Mouch let go of the hose, moving over to the left. It only took Casey a few seconds to grab control of the end of the hose. He motioned with his head to Kidd, who came over beside him. “Open your radio Kidd.” Casey yelled.

Hearing her bosses order, she keyed her microphone and held the channel open.

“CHIEF!” Casey yelled into the microphone while still using the hose to dose the flames as best he could. “I have got control of the hose. I am going to have all my folks retreat to the stairwell. I will hold the fire off until Severide gets here.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Boden saw Brett stand up from where she was treating her victim, looking directly at him. Using both of his hands, he motioned to Brett to calm down, though he didn’t know why. What Casey was suggesting was bordering on a suicide mission.

Calling over the radio, Boden knew he needed more information. “Severide, report. What is your 1020?”

It only took a second for Kelly to respond. “Squad is on 16. I can be to Casey in 2 minutes.”

Taking in this information, Boden called Granger. “40, report. What is your location?”

Boden tapped his foot as he waited for a response. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, but was in fact only 30 seconds, Granger came on the radio. “We are almost to 7 Chief. These saws are a bitch to carry up the stairs.”

“FUCK!” Boden cursed. He tried to think of any way to get water to 1224, but there wasn’t any. The aerial wouldn’t reach that high, and even if it did, unit 1224 was on the Northwest side of the building facing an alley. Sure, the platform truck could get in there, but he would have to angle the aerial almost at a 90 degree angle to get it up, and it would only get to the 6th or 7th story, and he wasn’t sure if the water would go another five floors. Knowing he was out of options, Boden tried his best to think.

Boden knew that the CFD only had one aerial in the city high enough to get 12 floors up, or even with enough hose to reach that far up the stairwells. He silently wondered why they weren’t here yet.

“Main, any ETA on truck 23?” Boden asked. After a few seconds, he got his reply.

**Truck 23 is finishing up a house fire on Devine Street. ETA to your location is 30 minutes.**

Boden grimaced at hearing that. “Casey, you are to stay on the hose until Severide gets to you. Do you copy?” Boden asked.

It only took a second for Casey to respond. “Copy that chief.”

___________________

As soon as Boden’s orders were clear, Casey radioed out to everyone. “Okay, all of you head downstairs.”

All of them looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Finally, Hermann called back. “Casey, you can’t…”

“Yes I can Hermann. I will be fine. Severide will be down in a minute. Now all of you head downstairs. That’s an order.”

Every single member of 51 on the 12th floor stairwell thought about arguing with Casey, but they all knew he wouldn’t listen. It was just like Casey to protect them to a fault. He was one of the few Captains in the CFD who also went into a fire first, before any of his reports did. They knew that under no circumstance would he risk any of them if he didn’t have to.

Turning towards the small group, Hermann called out what everyone knew they had to do. “Okay everyone, let’s go. You heard the Captain. Let’s get down stairs.”

As all of them started moving downward, Hermann and Mouch paused. “Are you sure Hermann?” Mouch asked his friend.

Hermann looked down the hallway one more time towards Casey, before nodding yes.

_______________

Brett and Mackay had both let the other ambulances that arrived take care of any victims, and had moved closer to Boden, listening intently to their radios. Since Gianna had never gone through this situation before, she was hard pressed to understand why the worry on Boden and Brett’s face was so noticeable. The only thing she knew was that it wasn’t good.

Closing her eyes again, Sylvie said any and every prayer she could for Matt. She knew what he was doing, that was clear enough on the radio. He was sacrificing himself to get everyone else out. She could feel her hands shaking, but she knew there was no way to stop them. Instead, she prayed that Severide would get down to Matt in time to get him out of building.

______________


	3. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Casey orders his team to fall back, Severide knows he has to help his friend. Will he be able to get there in time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 3! Thanks to all of you for your amazing response to this story. This story is much more detail oriented than my past ones, and we have several more chapters to go before you find out what happens as a result of high rise fire. Stay tuned! As always, thanks for all your comments and kudos. I love seeing everyone's reactions to this story. Hope you enjoy!

_Shit,_ Severide thought to himself. He knew what Casey was doing, and he wasn’t going to let him do it alone.

“Okay 3, all of you check the remaining floors. I am going to go help Casey.” Severide said through the radio.

Right as he turned, he heard Cruz behind him. “Severide, let me help too.”

Shaking his head, he put his hand on Cruz’s shoulder. “No, you are in command on Squad. Get all these floors checked and when you do, radio me.”

With that said, Severide started running towards the steps, hoping to get to Casey before it was too late.

_______________

As Casey watched the flames from the unit come further and further out into the hallway, he realized he had backed himself up as far as he could away from the flames, against the door of the unit across the hall. For a moment, he wondered why the fire was still burning so hot, even AFTER the amount of water they had thrown at? Realizing it didn’t really matter now, Casey took a deep breath of his oxygen. In retrospect, this wasn’t the smartest decision he had ever made, but he at least knew that all of his men were out of harms way. 

As he watched the water from the hose jet out towards the fire in the unit, he tried to remember what he had learned in mass years ago. After racking his brain and coming up with nothing, he laughed to himself. He wasn’t sure God would necessarily want to hear from him now any way.

Closing his eyes, he felt his turnout coat get hotter as the heat beat against it. He thought about keying his radio and talking to Sylvie, but with Granger coming up the stairs he knew that wouldn’t be smart. It gave him a small measure of comfort to know she had someone in her life to care for her. While he wished, with all of his being he could turn back the hands of time and go back to the night they kissed, he knew that he couldn’t. Instead, he prepared himself for whatever was to come, understanding the woman he was in love with didn’t even know it.

“CASEY!” Severide yelled through the radio, knocking Casey out of his thoughts. Turning, he saw his best friend 10 feet away, crawling along the floor as close to the opposite wall from the flames as he could.

“God that’s hot.” Kelly exclaimed when he got to where Casey was, knowing immediately this was no ordinary fire.

“Severide…I got nothing man.” Casey replied honestly. “I can’t control the fire in this unit, and we are pretty sure the fire has spread to at least the two adjoining apartments.”

Grabbing his radio, Severide called out. “40, where are those saws!”

The response was quicker this time. “Just passed 9.” Granger replied.

Severide and Casey shared a look at that response. They knew in their hearts they had probably already lost control of the fire, and at this height, there weren’t many options for them. Severide was about to tell his Captain they needed to retreat, when he heard Casey come over the radio.

“Any ideas y…” Casey asked before his voice was drowned out by a fireball blowing out the doors of 1222 and 1226.

___________________

On the ground, Brett felt her knees give out at the sight of two windows exploding, causing glass to fall through the sky. She didn’t have to look at Boden to know that was where Casey and Severide were at.

Pulling his radio to his mouth, Boden gave the command he knew he had to give. With THREE windows blown out, the fire was going to have all the oxygen it needed to grow and consume whatever it wanted. “Evacuate. Evacuate. Everyone out NOW!”

Both Brett and Mackay turned to Boden, seeing the muscles in his face clinched tightly together. Mackay looked up and saw that the amount of smoke coming from the building had practically tripled.

Sylvie turned back towards the high rise, letting the tears she had been holding in fall down her cheeks.

_________________

On the 12th floor, both Severide and Casey looked to their right and left, seeing nothing but flames shooting out the doors on either side of them, setting the carpeted hallway on fire. Further down the halls each way, they could see smoke billowing out from underneath doors everywhere, a clear sign that most of the apartments on the opposite side of the building, and more than likely the ones above it, were fully engulfed. Knowing that more blow outs were coming, Casey yelled at Severide. “Sorry I got you into this mess.”

Without replying, Severide turned and kicked in the door on 1225 on the other side of the hall, away from the flames. Moving through the apartment, he looked out the window, checking to see if there was any type of escape option available to them. What he saw looking down was a four lane road. _Shit._

Keying his radio, he moved back to where Casey was. “Chief, we are pinned in on 12. We can get to the other side of the building, but that faces Lincoln, and I know we don’t have anything to get to the 12th floor. Any suggestions?”  
_________________________

By now, most everyone from 51 and 40 had made their way back down to the street, or were making their way out of the building. Once they got to where Boden was standing, they all turned back to look up at the fire.

“Main, any update on Truck 23? I have two men trapped on the 12th floor!” the Chief said through gritted teeth.

After a few seconds, Main responded. **Truck 23 in route to you. ETA with blocked traffic is 15 to 20 minutes.**

“Chief, please let us go get them.” Cruz begged, hearing the ETA.

Letting his chin fall to his chest, Boden slowly shook his head.

“Anyone have any ideas?” Boden asked everyone around hm.

There was silence for a few moments, before Hermann spoke up. “We could go to the other building next door,” he said pointing, “and use a ladder to make a bridge to one of the rooms that isn’t on fire.”

Turning to look, Boden instantly didn’t like that idea. Maybe as a last resort…and even then, just maybe. First, how were Casey and Severide going to get through the fire to get to room that WASN’T on fire on that side of the building? On top of that, the gap between buildings must have been 40 feet, and while they certainly had ladders that could reach that, Boden knew that the ladder would buckle as soon as Casey or Severide got to the middle. “Anything else?” Boden asked. Boden was surprised to hear the next suggestion.

“Chief,” Casey said tensely. “I can turn the hose on the hallway, and probably buy enough time for Severide to get out.”

Sylvie’s face swung to look at the Chief, knowing what Casey was suggesting. _He is going to sacrifice himself for Severide._ She was about to say something when she felt Greg grab her hand, squeezing it gently. Before any words could form in her brain, she heard Severide.

“Screw that Casey. I am not going anywhere without you so go ahead and get that out of your head.”

Silently, Brett thanked God for Kelly Severide, glancing over to see Kidd nervously chewing her lip. Kicking herself, she had completely forgotten about Kidd and how she must be feeling. Pulling away from Greg, she walked over, putting her arm around Stella.

“We can go back up the 12th floor and slide them rappelling gear.” Cruz said excitedly.

Boden turned to look at Joe, running threw the idea in his head. When he let out a small smile, he called for his two commanders. “How does that sound to you two?” Boden asked.

There was silence for a second, which Boden took to mean they were debating the merits of it. Finally, after what seemed longer than it actually was, Severide came back on. “Let’s do it.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief for a second before Kelly came back on. “Cruz, get two sets, and we need you to wrap them in someone’s turn out gear before you get them to us. You are probably going to have to get close enough to throw them to us, because I don’t think anything is going to slide on this wet carpet.”

_________________

Brett let Kidd out of her embrace as Stella quickly took off her turn out coat and handed it to Cruz.

“He is going to okay Kidd. Both of them are. I just know it.” Sylvie said to her best friend.

Stella ran her sweaty hands up and down her pants. “They better be….I… can’t lose Kelly.”

Pulling her friend into a hug, Sylvie tried to not even think about a world without Matthew Casey in it.

_______________


	4. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No plan is perfect, and Casey and Severide are about to find out just how fragile theirs is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 4! Thank you all for taking this journey with me. For some reason, this story has taken on a life of its own, and I am so engrossed in it I have already finished chapter 10. Because some of you asked SO nicely, you get Chapter 4 early! As always, I love reading your comments about what you think of this story and where you think it is going. With that said, on to Chapter 4! Hope you enjoy!

After the plan was approved, Cruz ran to Squad 3’s vehicle and, with help from Capp, got the rappelling gear out and secured in Kidd and Tony’s turnout coats. With one pack under each arm, Joe turned to run back towards the building before Boden stopped him.

“Mask up Cruz. You are going to need it. Don’t spend any longer than you have to. In and out, copy?”

Cruz put on his mask while he nodded his head, while Capp turned on his oxygen. With that accomplished, he headed towards the building, running as fast as he could.

Turning to his men, Boden gave his instructions. “Hermann, you and Mouch get that aerial to the other side of the building in case they need it!”

__________________

On the 12th floor, Casey had backed into apartment 1225, getting a few more feet away from the flames that now seemed everywhere in the hallway.

“How much time do you think we have before the house catches fire?” Severide asked.

Sticking his head out into the hallway, Casey grimaced. “Probably only a couple more minutes.” Casey said slowly. 

For a few moments, the two of them stood in silence, the only sound filling their ears the water blasting out of the firehose in Casey’s hand, and the roaring hiss the fire was making. Finally, Casey broke the silence.

“Severide, you need to go. I can hold off the flames until Cruz gets up here, but I don’t want both of us to die when we don’t have to.”

Slowly shaking his head, Severide wasn’t hearing it, so Casey continued. “Look Kelly. You have got Kidd waiting downstairs for you. You need to get out of here, marry her, and have lots of kids. I promise I will be okay, but you need to go. Now.”  
  
Out in the street, Kidd looked up with hopeful eyes, listening to Matt try to coax the man she loved out of the building. Without realizing it, she was squeezing Brett’s hands so hard they were turning white. Brett didn’t care about that, though. All she was hoping for was for BOTH Casey and Severide to come down safely. She had experienced so much loss over the last year, and somehow she fought her way through all of that… but only with Matt’s help. If something happened to him, how would she ever recover?

___________________

Casey knew he about had Severide convinced. He kept up the onslaught, telling Kelly he wanted him to be older, like Bennie, when he died. Finally, he threw out the one thing that he knew might work. “Kelly, we couldn’t do anything to save Andy all those years ago. But now I have a chance to save you…Please just go.”

All Severide could think of was getting to see Stella again, but he knew he couldn’t leave Casey in this room alone. Finally, he relented. “Okay Case…but I am only going to meet Joe with the rappelling gear. I don’t think there is anyway for him to throw it to us without it getting burned. Whenever I get that, I will come back and we will go down together.”

Casey nodded once, knowing in his heart that he couldn’t uphold his end of that bargain, regardless of how much Kelly wanted him to. On the count of 3, Casey turned the hose down the hall way towards the stairwell. “Just crawl out under the spray!” Casey yelled over the radio.

Falling to his knees, Severide crawled on the floor, following the spray of the hose through the water-soaked carpet and then underneath the massive volumes of water that Casey was shooting in front and on top of him. When he got past the flames, he kept low, just in case another door blew out. When he was finally free, he stood up, turning back to look at Casey, who was already back in the room, the hose now aimed back across the hallway.

___________________

Stella let the relief wash over her, hearing that Kelly was clear. She didn’t know how Casey had done it, but some how he had convinced Severide to get out of harm’s way, if only for a few minutes. Turning to Brett, she saw her friend’s tears for the first time. “Casey is going to be okay Brett. I just know it. As soon as Cruz gets him the gear, Severide will get Casey out of the building in no time.”

Looking up at the 12th floor again, Brett closed her eyes. For some reason, she felt that if Casey had caught her glance before he went in like he normally did, none of this would have happened. Even though they weren’t a couple, she wanted her friend back. She wanted back the happy Matt who laughed at her stupid games with funny accents. If she was being honest, she even wanted back the Matt whose smile made her heart flutter and whose gaze pierced her soul. Even with all that, she couldn’t help but be in awe of the man who would potentially sacrifice himself for everyone else.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Cruz’s voice over the radio. “I am at 12 Chief.”

For the first time, everyone at 51 thought everything might be okay.

_________________

Severide met Cruz at the top of the stair well. “You okay Severide?” he asked.

Shaking his head, Kelly held up his oxygen meter, showing it at zero. “Casey,” Severide said over the radio. “I am out of oxygen, so Cruz is going to have to throw you the gear. You ready?”

It only took a second for Casey to reply. “Yep. Tell him to hurry. The hose is already on fire.”

“Shit.” Cruz yelled, turning to run down the hallway. “Here I come Captain.”

_One chance,_ Casey said to himself. _You only have one chance at this._

Turning to aim the water stream back down the hallways towards Cruz, he saw his friend running towards him. Right when Cruz got the edge of the fire that the water was beating back, Casey lowered the stream towards the ground.

In what seemed like slow motion, Casey watched the wrapped turn out gear float through the air and flames towards him. It only took him a second to realize one thing…. _it’s going to be short._

Casey saw the package fall right in the flames against the door one apartment away from him. Immediately, he shot the water towards it, praying it was okay. Sitting the hose on the ground, Casey walked towards the gear with his right foot on the hose, trying to control it as best as possible while dealing with the heat of the fire that seemed all around him. He had just picked up the precious package when the water flow shut off.

“Fuck.” Casey said out loud. Running through the flames back towards the open door he had been working in, he dove in and kicked the door closed right before the gates of hell opened up.

________________

“Casey got the gear.” Cruz yelled onto the radio as he and Severide ran down the stairs. “But the hose is burnt so the water is gone.”

Wallace Boden let his face fall into his hands for a moment, before he raised it quickly. “Casey. You need to get out now!” He yelled, as he started running towards the other side of the building.

“Hermann, you and Mouch get ready.”

All of 51 and 40 ran, following their Chief to the other side of the building, each hoping that they would soon see Casey climbing down the side of the building.

_Come on Matt,_ Brett thought. _You can do this._

__________________________

In apartment 1225, Casey was rolling on the floor, effectively putting out the flames that had found him during his run back. He opened up the turn out gear, pulling out the rappelling equipment. As quickly as he his hands would go, he stepped into the harness, tightening it around his waist. He hooked the caliber to the sturdiest thing he could find, the metal heater that sat on the floor by the window. When he reached for the rope, he felt his stomach drop. 

He could she the fire had burnt the rope, how much he couldn’t be sure. Seeing the paint begin to bubble on the inside of the door, he knew he didn’t have much time. As he tied one end of the rope to the caliber and looped the other end of it through his belt, he prayed for one last thing.

_Please let me live long enough to tell Sylvie I am in love with her._

______________________


	5. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Casey's escape plan in place, his only hope is that it will work. Will he be able to see Sylvie again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 5! I just want to thank all of you for your comments, kudos, and most of all, reading along with this story. A lot of you want to know what is going to happen to Casey, and this is the first chapter of the short arc that covers that. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> PS - If you all are REALLY nice, you might even get Chapter 6 tonight!

Mouch was maneuvering the aerial as close as he could to where he thought Casey was, an act that was complicated by how far back they had to park the truck due to the litany of cars that were stopped everywhere. How Hermann even got the truck over here without hitting another car, well, he would never know. When he saw a window open and Casey step out, he hit the directional button to the right, cursing the machine for taking so long to move. As it finally began to move towards Casey, Mouch knew he was in trouble. Not only would the aerial only get up to the 6th floor, but there was also about a 15 foot gap between the end of the ladder and the wall of the building.

In a sitting position with his legs against the brick, Casey could still see into the apartment he just came from. As soon as he saw the first flame enter the building, he pushed off when his feet, falling about ten feet before his feet touched the brick again. When he looked up again, he could already see flames shooting out the window above him.

“Shit” he said to the universe, kicking his feet out once again, falling another floor before his feet touched. Looking down at his hand that was controlling his descent, his stomach dropped, seeing that tell the rest of the rope beneath him had been burned. How bad had it been burned could not be ascertained. Instead, he kicked his feet out one more time, dropping another floor. 

Behind him, he could hear Mouch calling him. Looking back over his left shoulder, as much as he could with his mask still on, he could see that the aerial was too far away for him to get too. _Maybe, if I push back really hard, I might get close to it,_ Casey thought. Pushing back as hard as he could this time as a test, he dropped another floor, but the test only proved to him he was going to be a few feet away from the end of the aerial. 

Just then, Casey felt himself drop a couple of feet without him doing anything. He was just looking up when he heard Severide come on the radio. “Casey, you got to get off that rope now! It’s getting ready to snap”

Falling to her knees beside Severide and Kidd, Brett knew she couldn’t watch Matt fall to his death. There was no way he could survive a fall from that height landing on concrete. She prayed whatever words came into her head, while at the same time forcing her eyes to stay shut.

_God, please protect Matt,_ she kept whispering.

Casey fell another foot as the rope frayed, somewhere in the flames above him. Knowing this was his only chance, he pushed off the building with as much force as possible. Once he was heading backwards, he could see the aerial below him, but he had no idea whether he would hit it or not. When he felt the rope go from taut to loose in his hands, he knew the rope had snapped. Just then, a realization hit him.

_Oh shit,_ Casey thought. _This really is it._

_____________________

Boden watched as if Casey was falling in slow motion. As much as he didn’t want to see what was happening, he couldn’t force his eyes shut. As Casey’s fall began to pick up speed, Wallace hoped, with everything in him, that Casey had one more life to live.

Mouch couldn’t judge the distance from where he stood on the platform of the aerial. But to him, it looked like Casey had a chance.

On the street below, Severide was already moving, his feet taking him towards the spot where Casey was falling. He had no idea if his best friend would be alive when he got there or not, but he knew he had to be the first one there.

______________________

About 20 feet above the aerial ladder, Matt had flipped himself over so that he was face down, and he knew he had a chance. In his mind, he chided himself for leaving on his turnouts, because they restricted his movement. As best as he could, he reached both of his arms as far out as he could, hoping that if nothing else, maybe glancing the aerial would slow down his momentum and give him a chance.

As the ladder got closer and closer, Casey knew his chance was real. With his arms still stretched out, he closed his eyes, seeing nothing in his mind but Sylvie smiling back at him.

When he hit the aerial, his chest took the brunt of the impact. Below him, he felt the ladder buckle, acting almost as a trampoline, bouncing him back up in the air a few feet. Eyes flying open, Matt knew that he was close to safety. Reaching back for the aerial, he cried out as pain shot through his body.

Casey felt the ladder rungs meet his hand, and he grabbed onto them with all the strength he had left. When he felt the rungs of the ladder hit his thighs, he knew that somehow, he had survived.

___________________

Mouch had his right foot on the first ladder rung, ready to head up as soon as the aerial stopped shaking. He was about to start his climb when someone shoved him out of the way.

“Casey!” Severide yelled as he moved up the aerial. “Hang on! I am coming to get you.”

All Matt Casey could see was concrete and automobiles beneath him. He tried to raise his head to look at Severide, but the pain was too great. He was about to bring his right hand to key his radio, when he felt his side explode in pain. Letting it fall back to where it was, he gently moved his left one to a place under the ladder where he thought his radio was. After a few seconds of searching, he found it, and keyed the mic. 

“Ch…Chief.” Casey mumbled.

Boden let out the breath he had been holding. “Casey,” he replied with relief. “Boy am I glad I get to talk to you again.”

“Me too.” Casey mumbled. “You are going to need to a C collar and a backboard up here….I think I injured something.”

Turning, Boden saw Kidd, Mackay and Brett already running back to the ambo to get what Casey needed. 

_____________________

As Severide got closer to Casey, he slowed his ascent. “Case. You okay?” he asked. Based on the radio report, he knew he wasn’t but he needed to know what was going on.

“Hey Sev…Everything hurts.” Casey mumbled, while watching blood trickle out of his mouth and onto a rung of the ladder. 

Looking down, Kelly tried to find where the needed equipment was. “You just hang tight Case. As soon as we get the collar and backboard, Cruz and I will get you down. I am sure Brett has some good drugs waiting for you.” Severide said, trying to lighten the mood.

Even through the pain, hearing Sylvie’s name brought Matt a small smile. That was, until he remembered Granger. He didn’t want to say what he was about to, but he knew he had to. He couldn’t look into Sylvie’s eyes right now. Between her eyes and smile, the drugs she was going to give him, and the fact that he just survived something he had no right in hell to, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from telling Sylvie that he was in love with her. With Granger here, he knew that was the last thing she needed.

“Hey Sev.” Casey groaned. “Can you have Mackay come up here instead of Sylvie?”

__________________


	6. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that everyone knows Casey survived the fall, the next step is getting Casey to the hospital. Will Casey's request force Brett to tell him how she feels?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 6! I am sorry for the delay in posting this, as I had hoped to get it up last night. However, my tennis match ran long so you get it this morning. Hope you enjoy!

Severide heard his friend’s request and, while he didn’t understand it, he wasn’t going to argue with him about it now. Not after he survived a situation that he honestly had no business surviving. 

By now, Boden had walked under the aerial so he could look up at Casey. He was about to speak to his Captain when his radio chirped.

**Truck 23 is clear. ETA to your location is 5 minutes.**

Keying his mic, Boden asked 40 and 51 to prepare to assist 23 when they arrived. He already knew no one from 51 would want to go back in until they were sure Casey was okay, but they still had a job to do. Behind him, he heard the sound of running, turning to see Brett and Mackay coming closer with the needed supplies, while behind them, Kidd drove 61 to get in better position.

Mackay handed Joe the backboard, and as soon as Cruz got to the bottom of the aerial truck, he lifted the backboard as high as he could, feeling Mouch grab it from his perch atop the ladder truck. Stepping back, Cruz cleared a path for Brett, who was about to climb the ladder, when she heard Severide call down.

“Mackay! Why don’t you come up here? You have never done an aerial before.”

Confused, Mackay looked at Brett, who in turn looked at Severide. Unsure exactly what was going on, Brett stepped out of the way, allowing Mackay room to start her climb. Moving quickly, Brett went under the aerial to where Boden was and looked up at Matt.

“Hang in there Matt. Mackay is on her way. Can you tell me what hurts?” She asked.

Groaning, Matt tried to move all his extremities. He moved the fingers on both hands, then moved both legs. _Well, at least I am not paralyzed,_ Matt thought. Trying to find his voice, he called down to Sylvie.

“My side…my right side hurts.”

_That makes sense,_ Sylvie thought. _Probably at least has broken a few ribs, if not more._ “Mackay,” Brett yelled. “Watch out for his sternum on his right side when you strap him onto the backboard.”

Nodding, Mackay and Severide made their way to Casey, being careful not to put too much weight on the end of the ladder. When they got closer to Casey, Severide let Mackay move further up to put the C collar on Casey and then she retreated when she saw how high they were. Then, she and Severide debated how best to get the backboard on Casey and get him flipped over. 

“Hey Case, do you think you get flip over for us?” Severide asked.

After a feeble yes came from Casey, they saw him slowly roll over, but not before Brett yelled for him take it easy. Having the patient rollover was never the ideal solution, but in this instance, Mackay didn’t have much choice, as there was no way that all three of them and the backboard would fit at the end of the aerial.

When Casey was on his back, Severide slid the backboard up the ladder rungs, letting it rest at Casey’s head. “Okay buddy, hang tight. I am going to pull you onto the board now.”

Seeing Matt give him a thumbs up, Kelly grabbed the straps on his turnout coat, pulling his friend onto the board. Once he was fully on, Severide gently strapped him in, before sliding the board and Casey down the aerial with Mackey to a waiting Mouch.

________________

As soon as the backboard was laying on the top of the truck, Mackay went to work on Casey as Sylvie made her way over to the ladder. At that point, Brett decided she was getting up that ladder one way or the other, and if Severide didn’t like it, he could just write her up. As soon as got up, she knelt done beside Casey and gave him a brief smile. 

“Good to see you again, Matt.” She said, before taking him in. His facemask was around his chin, having been pushed down one of the times he hit the aerial. His nose and mouth were bleeding, and she could see one of his front teeth had been knocked out. Her biggest concern was the way he was holding his right side with his left hand.

“What do you have Mackay?” Brett asked, impatient for an answer.

Sitting up straight, Mackay turned to her partner. “Breath sounds are good. Casey can move all his extremities. Looks like he has at least a couple of broken ribs.”

That was all Brett needed to hear. “Okay everyone, let’s get Casey down to the ambo so we can get him to Med.” Part of her wondered if Matt didn’t have a broken nose too, but that would be nothing compared to the positives of having good breath sounds. That meant one of his broken ribs hadn’t punctured his lung. It was some kind of miracle he looked as good as he did, based on the fall he took.

Cruz climbed down off the truck and along with Kidd, Hermann, and Capp, helped lower Matt to ground level from Severide and Mouch. As they sat Casey’s backboard on the gurney, Brett and Mackey scrambled down the ladder to get Casey in the ambo.

Right before the two paramedics got down from the top of the truck, Kidd walked over to Casey. “Thanks for watching out for Severide, Captain. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to him.”

Smiling, as best as he could, Casey was sincere in his reply, “Kidd, Sev has had my back more times than I can count. Only fair to repay the favor.”

______________________

When the paramedics got to Casey’s gurney, they wasted no time in running an IV line into him. While Brett was working, Granger walked over to them.

“Get better soon Captain. Hell of a job in there.” Greg said.

Raising his hand as much as he could, he waved at Granger, only to see the Lieutenant turn to Brett.

“I will see you tomorrow night Sylvie.”

_Crap,_ Sylvie thought, not daring to turn to look at Casey. She was sure he knew they were going out, but she didn’t want to rub his face in it. He hadn’t done that with that red head, and she didn’t want to do it now, especially when he was on a gurney getting ready to go to the hospital.

_And most of all when I still haven’t sorted out my feelings for Matt,_ she thought.

Mackey helped Brett get Casey into the back of the ambo. Severide was about to say something when he heard Boden speak up. “Casey! I will be by to check on you as soon as we are done here.”

With one more thumbs up, Mackay shut the doors to the ambo, and ran to the driver’s seat to take them to Med.

After Sylvie injected something in Casey’s IV, she turned to him. “That’s something to help with the pain, Matt.” Gently, she placed her hand on Casey’s cheek. Trying to hold back her tears, her words were barely audible. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. Okay?”

Casey kept reminding himself not to tell her how he felt, especially not after Granger’s comments. Instead, he closed his eyes, acting like he had fallen asleep.

___________________


	7. Results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Matt heads to the hospital, Brett has a moment to think. Will a new situation put more distance between her and Matt?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 7! I am so pleased that so many of you are liking my little fanfic. I have been so inspired tonight, that I have been writing up a storm and just finished Chapter 14. That means you all get TWO chapters a day for the foreseeable future. As always, your comments and kudos are much appreciated. Many of you have some ideas on where this story is headed, but all of you need to hold on...there are a lot of twists and turns ahead!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

As they rode to the hospital in silence, Brett reached down and took Casey’s hand in hers. Even while he was asleep, holding his hand felt intimate, since it was something they had never done. Part of her hoped that he would wake up so they could talk. _Lord knows there is a lot I want to say to him,_ she thought. Instead, she sat there, trying to regain her composure at the day they had experienced, knowing now that a long talk with Matt could wait.

_But not for much longer._

She knew her feelings for the blonde captain were still there, barely beneath the surface of her heart. She had done her best to force them as far down as she could, but he always seemed to do something to cause them to resurface. He had known how much he hurt her with his comment about Gabby the night they kissed. So, when she asked for space, he gave it to her. 

Part of her had wanted him to fight for her….for them. But she should have known better. Matt Casey was never going to do anything you asked him not to, unless it had to do with 51. For some reason, he was a gentleman through and through, something she both loved and sometimes hated him for. She couldn’t count the number of dreams she had where Casey pushed her against a wall, told her that he only wanted her, and kissed her again like he had that night. A kiss that was somehow filled with so much love, desire, and acceptance, she knew that she would never forget it for the rest of her life. 

She was knocked out of her thoughts when Mackay yelled back that they were at Med. Seeing Casey was still asleep, she squeezed his hand gently, before turning to the door. Under her breath, she said the only thing she could think of. “I can’t lose you too Matt.”

________________________

Casey could have sworn he heard Sylvie say something, but he couldn’t make it out with the sounds over the machines around him. Before he could ask her, the back door of the ambulance flew open, and he heard new voices.

“Tell us what you have.” A female voice said with authority.

Brett laid out the facts quickly. “40 year old man. Fell onto an aerial from a few floors up. BP 125 over 84. Alert, with normal mobility and good breath sounds from both lungs. Injury to right trunk, probably from broken ribs, as well as some facial lacerations.”

As Casey felt his gurney move out of the vehicle, he was temporarily blinded by the sun above him and closed his eyes again. As he felt them move, he opened them again when he felt the heat from inside the ER. Looking up, he saw Dr. Natalie Manning. 

Seeing Casey’s eyes open, she smiled down at him. “You are going to be okay Casey. I’ve got you.”

Sensing he would indeed be all right, he closed his eyes again.

As soon as Casey was transferred to the bed, the paramedics were asked to leave due to COVID protocols. Brett made her way back outside with the gurney. After she and Mackay stored it back in the ambo, Gianna made her way back into the hospital to get more supplies, while Brett stayed behind. When Mackay was out of sight, Brett let out the sobs she had been holding back. As her tears fell, she thanked God for letting Matt Casey live. After a few moments, she felt herself returning to normal, but she knew she still had one thing left to do. 

_I have to decide if I can live with only being friends with Matt?_

________________________

Within an hour, Casey felt like he had been put through the ringer. CT scan, x-rays, you name it, he had probably been in the machine. Looking up as Manning walked with his bed as they moved him back to his exam room, he couldn’t help himself.

“You know Manning, I haven’t had my prostate checked this year either. Are you going to do that do?” Casey joked.

“Oh, that is what you have to look forward to AFTER dinner.” Manning replied with a laugh.

Smiling to herself, Natalie looked down at the injured firefighter. His humor coming back was a good sign, as was every test they had run. Yes, he had 3 broken ribs on his right side, but that was nothing compared to how bad he could have been hurt. Also, with one of his teeth knocked out, he looked more like a hockey player than a firefighter.

As the nurses locked the wheels on Casey’s bed, Manning waited for them to leave his exam room before she spoke. When they were gone, she let him know his injuries. Matt nodded as she rattled them off, knowing for sure he had broken something as soon as had reached with his right arm. The missing tooth was new one, but he hadn’t seen a mirror since he got here.

“Over all Casey, you are one lucky SOB, that’s for sure. We will probably keep you overnight just to be safe, but you should be able to go home tomorrow. I would estimate you will probably be out for the next 3 or 4 shifts with that many broken ribs.”

Nodding Matt knew just how lucky he was. Seeing Manning was getting ready to leave, he knew he needed to repay her somehow. “Hey Doc.” He said, getting her attention.

“Next time you are at Molly’s your drinks are on me.”

Flashing Casey a quick smile, Manning headed out to see her other patients.

________________________________

It was over an hour before he saw anyone else, and this time it was Mackay bringing Casey some food, a drink with a straw, and his cell phone. For a second, Casey wondered where Sylvie was, but Mackey told her before he could ask.

“Here you go Captain. Brett is admitting another patient. Everyone else is still at the high rise doing clean up. Call us if you need us.”

Mackay was almost out the door when she turned back. “And if I might be so bold Captain, your fall was the craziest thing I have ever seen.” With those words spoken, Mackey headed back out.

Staring at the ceiling, Casey wondered what was going on at the high rise. He looked for the TV remote, but couldn’t find it. He knew no one could come inside the hospital besides the paramedics due to COVID restrictions, which was stupid because they all got tested before every shift.

Instead of worrying about that, he dug into the hamburger from his favorite place, a sure sign Brett was behind the meal. And, of course the straw, which somehow fit right where his front tooth should have been, allowing him to drink without making a mess.

After he finished eating, he drifted off to sleep, thinking about what an amazing woman Sylvie Brett was.

________________


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Casey leaves the hospital, he is given some news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 8! This is a little bit of a transition chapter to get us to the next arc. As always, thanks to all of you who are reading along, commenting, and sending kudos. Some of you have some ideas where/who/how this story is going to go. I warn all of you to remember one thing....I like to keep you on your toes!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

For a second, Casey was in heaven. He and Brett were kissing on her couch, his hands running up her sides, feeling her white tank top under his skin. When he pulled back to look at her, though, she was gone. When he blinked, there she was again, but this time she was behind the fire at apartment 1224. Immediately, he ran to her, but the flames were too hot. He kept hearing her call for him, but he couldn’t get to her. He reached out, hoping to grab her and pull her to him, but as soon as he touched her hand, he woke up.

Casey felt his eyes fly open from the nightmare, looking around quickly, cold sweat running down his face. The first face he saw was Boden. For a moment, he thought he was still dreaming, until he saw his Chief stand up.

“It’s okay Casey, it’s okay.” Wallace said through his mask, letting his hand come to rest on his Captain’s shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

It took Matt a few moments to compose himself, before he looked back up at his Chief. “Good sir. A little sore, but other than, okay. How did…”

Cutting him off, Boden knew the question that was coming. “I called in a favor with Goodwin. She okayed me stopping by to see you.”

Glancing at the clock, Casey saw that it was almost 7:30 am, meaning he had slept for something like 12 hours. Letting his head fall back on his pillow, he watched as Boden sat back down in the chair.

“Is everyone okay?” Casey asked tentatively.

“Yep.” Bodden responded quickly. “Once 23 got there, we had the fire under control within the hour. Took out most of the 12th floor, and some of the 10th and 11th before we got it stopped, but certainly better than the entire building.”

Casey nodded, remembering how bad the fire he had been in was. He was about to say something when the glass door to his room opened and one of the nurses, whose name he didn’t know, walked in. “Well Captain Casey, you definitely had a good sleep. I am here to discharge you.”

Standing up, Bodden threw his thumb towards the door. “I will wait for you outside. I told Severide I would drive you home.”

______________________

20 minutes later, Casey emerged from the room fully dressed with the clothes Boden had grabbed from his locker, as well as a list of follow up instructions. Most were pretty simple, as he had broken his ribs more times than he could count. He had a prescription for pain medicine that he knew he would never fill, but took the piece of paper anyway.

As he walked beside Boden, Matt said the only thing he could think of. “Thanks for this Chief. You really didn’t have to do this.”

Boden waited until they were both in his buggy before he replied. Turning to face Casey, he watched as the younger man buckled his seat belt. “Yes, I did Casey. What you did yesterday was incredibly brave. For a few moments there, I was pretty sure we were going to lose you.”

Not knowing what to say, Casey remained silent as Boden put the red Explorer in gear and headed towards the loft. As they rode in silence, Boden broke it with some news. “So, to get the logistics out of the way, Doc signed you out for the next 3 shifts, assuming you pass the follow her follow up exam.”

Before Casey could even complain, Boden held his hand up. “AND, Grissom is ordering you to see the CFD Psychiatrist before he will let you come back.”

“What?” Casey questioned. “How does Grissom even know about this call yet?”

“He found out because there is video of you coming out the window. Don’t worry, no one knows your name, but as soon as he saw it, he made that a condition of your return.”

_Fuck me,_ Casey said to himself.

“Also,” Boden added at the end. “The fire is under investigation by OFI. There was something about the way all of you described the fire that didn’t sit right with any of us. We asked OFI to go in and find out what was making that fire burn so hot.”

________________________

Thirty minutes later, Boden pulled in front of Severide’s loft. “Do you need me to help you get upstairs?” Boden asked.

Shaking his head, Matt responded. “No Chief, I’ve got it. Thanks for coming to pick me up today. I really appreciate it.”

Extending his hand out, Boden took Casey’s in his, shaking it slowly. “Anytime Casey. I am just glad you are still around for me to do this.”

Casey smiled as he got out of the car, closing the door behind him. With a quick wave, Casey started to move gingerly towards the elevator as the Chief drove off behind him.

_____________________

As soon as Casey got off the elevator, Severide and Kidd were there to greet him. Reaching out, Kelly took Casey’s bag from him.

“How are you feeling?” Severide asked as they slowly made their way to the loft.

Nodding slowly, Casey let out a small smile. “Well, besides looking like a 4 year old who just lost his first tooth, pretty good.”

The laughter they shared eased the tension as they moved into their space, and Matt gently eased himself down on the couch.

“You need anything Casey?” Stella asked.

“No Kidd, I am good. I appreciate it though.” Casey replied.

All of three of them sat together in silence, staring at a blank television. Finally, Kidd broke the silence. “Casey, thank you for what you did for Kelly. I can’t tell you what it means that you would do that.”

Turning to face her, Matt was about to brush it off, when she held up her left hand.

“And luckily,” Stella continued, “Kelly listens really well because we got engaged this morning.”

Not able to hide the smile on his face, Severide watched as Kidd came and sat on his lap.

“Congrats you two.” Casey said happily. “You two really deserve to be happy.” Matt watched as Kidd placed a soft kiss on Severide’s lips before hopping up and moving to the kitchen. After she got to the refrigerator, Severide turned back to Casey.

“I mean it too, Case. Thanks for what you did yesterday. Though, you are an idiot for sacrificing yourself like you did… I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.”

Waving him off, Matt replied, “I am fine. It all worked out in the end and now you are going to get married. What else can be better than that?”

Looking at his friend seriously, Severide said the one thing he had been holding in for a while. “What would be better Case, is if you would go talk to Brett so you can be happy too.”

__________________


	9. Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Brett waits for word that Casey is home, she lets her mind sort through her feelings for both him and Granger. What will come out of it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 9! As I have mentioned in some of the comments, I just finished Chapter 16, so you all will get 2 chapters (one in the morning and one at night - US EST) EVERY day for at least through Monday. I can see an ending for this story, and while it isn't close, it also isn't 50 chapters away either. So hold on for all the angst, twists and turns, and misunderstandings I can throw at you between now and then.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Across town, Sylvie was pacing the floors of her apartment, looking at her phone. Kidd had told her when they left shift that she would text her with an update on Casey as soon as she had one.

It wasn’t that Casey wouldn’t be okay…she knew from dropping him off he would live, if albeit in some pain for the next week or so. But that didn’t matter. What kept her pacing was wanting CONFIRMATION that Casey was out of the hospital and back home. Knowing that, for whatever reason, would help her calm down.

She looked at the clock once more, seeing it was almost 9am now. Flipping her cell phone in her hand, she thought about texting Kidd first. They had talked about how scared they both had been yesterday when they got back to the firehouse. It was hard NOT admitting to Kidd that she still had feelings for Matt, but luckily Kidd hadn’t pried. She wondered if Greg was wondering, though, as she begged off of meeting him for breakfast this morning after shift. When she had told him she was too tired from the stress of yesterday, she hoped that he took her at her word, even when she knew there was more to it than just that.

Flopping down on her couch, she looked at the clock again, seeing it hadn’t moved since she last looked. Before she even realized what happed, she felt the memories of her kisses with Casey come flooding back to her. Something about the fabric of the couch on her skin had that effect on her, and if she was being honest, she hadn’t sat on her couch much since the night Casey had broken her spirit.

It wasn’t his fault, she tried to remind herself. She was the one who had kissed HIM first. But she knew that she needed to ask the question about Gabby, and her gut instinct was confirmed with his answer. The one thing she couldn’t figure out was when Matt answered her “me too” when she said she had wanted to kiss him for a long time.

If he was still in love with Gabby, then why was he wanting to kiss her? None of that made any sense. She knew Casey would never cheat on any woman he was with…that much was clear based on how much of a gentleman he was. But if he still loved Gabby, why did he kiss her? And even more than that, why did he sleep with Sydney from the accident? That was what she couldn’t corelate. If she had been brave enough to talk to him about what happened, maybe he could have explained it to her. Unfortunately though, she asked for space the next time he brought it up, and followed that up with the “we can never happen again”.

She kicked herself for adding the last part, but in her defense, her heart was broken at the time. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth, based on the dreams she kept having about Casey kissing her and telling her he only wanted her. She didn’t know how to reconcile the two, or the feelings she still had for him, or Granger.

Seeing Greg only complicated things for her, not made them easier. Yes, he was VERY attractive, and it was clear by his words and actions that he only wanted her. She couldn’t deny that part felt nice. Being with him was easy. Maybe not as easy as being with Matt could have been, but it was easy nonetheless. While she hadn’t even kissed him yet, he knew she wanted to take things slow and Granger said he would wait. But if she still had feelings for Matt, was it fair to be going out with Granger?

Closing her eyes, she let out a frustrated sigh. The only thing that ever came from thinking about all this was a headache, and she could feel one coming on now. She had just gotten up to get some Alleve when she heard her phone chime with an incoming text. Opening it quickly, she saw it was only Greg wanting to confirm their plans for tonight. As much as she wasn’t sure she wanted to go out tonight, she also didn’t want to be mean to him either. After she replied affirmatively, she took two pills and sat back down on the couch.

_I am giving Kidd until 9:30 before I text her,_ she thought.

___________________

Casey had retreated to his bedroom, giving Severide and Kidd some much needed space to enjoy their engagement. He knew that their news also meant change for him. Regardless of what Severide said, he was going to have to move out and find his own place. Things were already heading in that direction BEFORE the engagement, and he knew that he had to speed things up on that front again.

_Well, I guess I have a week at home to make some plans._

Pulling up Google on his phone, he found the name and number of his dentist and placed a call. Since his tooth being knocked out was considered an emergency, they told him they could see him at 9am tomorrow morning. Making a reminder in his calendar about that, he undressed to get a shower. As he took off the Ace bandage that was wrapped tightly against his ribs, he noticed the purple and blue bruising on his right side. Trying to be gently with his body, he let the water warm up, before getting in with his left side first, adjusting the spray so it wouldn’t hit him directly on his injured ribs.

As he stood there enjoying the warm water, all he could think about was the way Sylvie touched his cheek and held his hand on the way to the hospital yesterday. Closing his eyes, he remembered the tears she had in her eyes, overcome with the relief he was okay.

As he washed off his body as best as he could with his broken ribs, he tried to formulate a plan in his head to tell Sylvie how he felt about her. Unfortunately, when he got out of the shower and started drying off, he was no closer to a plan that wouldn’t hurt Sylvie MORE than he already had.

___________________


	10. Molly's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Casey decides to head to Molly's for a drink. Will a new visitor cause more complications for him and Brett?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 10! Thanks to all of you who are reading along, commenting, and sending kudos. This chapter starts the next arc of this little fan fic, so hold to your seats....there are going to be a lot of twists and turns as we move forward. Also, just remember one thing...I am always going to try to surprise you!.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Right before 10am, Kidd texted Brett to let her know that Casey was home. She apologized for the delay in texting her, only hinting that Kelly had taken her back to bed after Casey got home. Keeping her engagement a secret, as she knew Kelly wanted to tell the firehouse all at once, she told Brett she would see her tonight if she stopped by Molly’s.

Feeling better, Brett toyed with the idea of cancelling her date with Granger in order to go talk to Casey. She knew at some point, they both needed to clear the air once and for all, but she honestly didn’t know if she was ready for that conversation. She was close right before she found out that Matt was seeing Sydney, but now that she was seeing Greg the timing seemed off again. 

Frustrated with the frozen state of things in her life, she decided to go to a spin class before Greg picked her up. _At least that way I will be too tired to stay out late tonight._

___________________

At 8pm, Casey made his way to Molly’s. He really didn’t want to face all of 51, afraid that they would remind him how lucky or stupid he was. He loved his 51 family, but they all knew by now he took criticism hard and praise even harder.

Since he wasn’t taking his pain pills, he drove his truck over, parking it on the side of the street across from the bar. Looking quickly in both directions, he noticed both Sylvie and Granger’s cars absent, which would hopefully give him more time to figure out how to talk to Sylvie about the feelings he still had for her.

As he entered the bar, Hermann was the first to see him.

“Hey Captain. Can I tell you how glad I am to see you alive and in one piece?”

Nodding, Casey forced a smile. “Appreciate it Hermann. Can I just have a beer?”

Reaching under the counter, Hermann grabbed one and handed it to him. “That my friend is on the house. Cindy’s orders.”

‘Thanks Hermann.” Casey replied, already seeing how the night was going to go. Moving out to the patio, he looked for Severide, finding him at the bar whispering to Kidd. Moving further, he found an empty table on the other side of the bar. Over the next 30 minutes every member of 51 who was there had come over and either congratulated him or told him how crazy he was. In addition, he had offers for as many beers as he wanted tonight, since everyone else was paying. Sticking to water after his first, he pulled out his phone and tried to look busy.

_________________

After 15 minutes of looking at absolutely nothing on his phone, he was interrupted by a new voice.

“Is this seat taken?” Natalie Manning asked.

Looking up quickly, Casey smiled for the first time tonight. “Sure Doc. What can I get you?”

Making a gesture towards the bar, Manning couldn’t help by laugh. “Some concoction Kidd sold me on. I told her you were buying, so she gave me the expensive one.”

Nodding his head, Matt couldn’t help but laugh either. “Yep, that sounds like Kidd.” Once Stella had brought over Natalie’s drink, Casey held up his water bottle.

“Here’s to good doctors who can put back together stupid firefighters.” Casey toasted.

Grinning from ear to ear, Manning looked at Casey earnestly. “I can drink to that.”

____________________

As Greg pulled his Jeep onto the curb at Molly’s, Brett looked across the street and saw Casey’s truck. For a second, she thought about asking Granger if they could skip drinks tonight, but she didn’t. In truth, she had really enjoyed her dinner with him. She still wasn’t sure if there was a future with him, but she was beginning to at least think there MIGHT be one. Pushing out her insecurities, she opened her door and met him at the back of his vehicle, his hand immediately finding the small of her back just like it had all night.

When they walked in, she tried not to make it obvious that she was looking for Casey, but found she couldn’t even look as Greg was talking to her. As she sat down, he went to get their drinks, leaving her to fold her hands, that showed her nervousness, in her lap.

When he got back to the table, Granger earned a smile when he handed her the glass of Rose’ she wanted, and she promptly took a large sip of it. As Greg sat down, he looked over her left shoulder, studying something for a minute.

“Who is that Casey is sitting with?” Greg asked. “She looks familiar for some reason.”

Brett turned, expecting to find Sydney sitting with Casey, but was shocked to see Dr. Manning. Trying to catch her breath, she saw Natalie wave over at her, something she did in return. When she turned back to face Greg, she tried her best to smile like normal.

“That is Dr. Natalie Manning from Chicago Med.” Sylvie stated, hoping the strain in her voice wasn’t noticeable.

Nodding, Granger looked back over at Casey and Manning. “Good for Casey.” Granger continued. “She is hot.”

Sylvie’s eyes flew open at his comment, her cheeks reddening at the shock of his words. Seeing her expression, Greg backtracked himself immediately. “NOT hotter then you Sylvie….I…I mean…just good for Casey. He could have died the other day. One of the guys at the fire the other day said Captain had been really depressed lately, so maybe she is just what he needs.”

Looking down at her drink, Brett tried to come to grips with the words Granger had said. She could care less about the “hot” comment, because Natalie was indeed very beautiful. That part had just caught her off guard. What she was trying to work through in her mind was him saying someone at 51 had told him Matt had been depressed lately. _When was that?_ Brett thought. _Or more importantly, was Casey depressed about things not working out with us?_

For the next 10 minutes, both Granger and Brett drank in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Brett excused herself and went to the bathroom. As soon as she was in the lady’s room, Kidd came in right behind her.

“You okay?” Kidd asked, her worry for her friend evident.

Sylvie knew she could try to act like she didn’t know why Stella was asking her that, but she just didn’t have the strength…not after the last 2 days. “What happened to Sydney?”

Leaning against the wall, Kidd took in her friend’s question. She knew Brett wasn’t over Casey, regardless of what she said or who she went out with. Knowing she had to tread carefully, she did just that. “Casey only went on 2 dates with her before HE ended it. You can’t say ANYTHING, because I am not supposed to know, but let’s just say I have my ways of getting information from Kelly.”

Letting that information sink in, Brett couldn’t help but wonder what happened. Or more importantly, if she played a role in Casey ending it.

___________________

On the other side of the bar, Casey and Manning had been talking nonstop about everything and nothing. To say she had enjoyed herself, Manning thought, would be an understatement.

“Well Casey, I really enjoyed this, but I better be heading home now.”

Casey was actually a little sad hearing that. He had enjoyed talking to Manning tonight. It was nice to have a conversation with someone who wasn’t always asking him about Brett, or worse yet, Gabby. “I enjoyed it too. Let me walk you out.”

As Casey moved to the bar to pay his and Manning’s bill, he didn’t even notice Brett walk behind him and sit back down with Granger. With their bill paid, Casey opened the door for, and then followed Manning inside, not once realizing that Sylvie’s eyes had not left them once since she sat back down.

____________________


	11. Disappointments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As circumstances led both Casey and Brett to be at Molly's with other people, will a lack of understanding cause the two of them to drift further apart?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 11! This chapter really sets out story careening towards its, still a ways off, conclusion. As always, thanks for all of your comments, kudos, and most of all the time you take out of your busy days to read along with my fan fic. I am already working on Chapter 20, and can see the ending beginning to come up over the horizon, so while we have a lot longer to go, hold on!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Casey walked with Manning towards her car. When they got there, Casey opened her door for her. 

“I really did have a nice time tonight Doc.” Casey said truthfully. “It was nice talking to someone who doesn’t live inside the firehouse 51 gossip bubble.”

Smiling, Manning reached into her purse. “I couldn’t agree more Casey.” She said, handing him her card. “This has my cell phone on it. Call me if you ever want to talk or just hang out.”

Nodding, Matt pulled his wallet out, giving her his card. “Ditto Doc. Have a good night.”

After Casey watched her drive off, he walked to his truck and got in. As he drove home, he realized he hadn’t thought about Sylvie once over the last thirty minutes or so, which much have been a record. As he pulled into his parking spot, he walked up to the loft feeling lighter than he had in weeks.

_Now I just need to get my tooth fixed so I don’t look like a baby,_ he thought.

____________________

Back at Molly’s, Brett and Granger had been drinking in relative silence, only talking periodically about nothing important. As Granger looked over at Sylvie, who was currently looking over at the bar to Kidd, he began to wonder if Casey was the reason Brett wanted to take things slow.

He would have to have been an idiot not to see how she was acting at the high rise fire when Casey was in trouble. Of course, he could say she would act that way about anyone from 51, but he was starting to think that wasn’t the case.

Brett looked up at Granger, seeing him lost in his own thoughts. She figured by now Casey and Manning were back at one of their places, probably kissing each other the same way she and Matt had just a few weeks ago. Just knowing that caused her heart to break a little more, with the realization that it wasn’t that Casey WASN’T over Gabby, but that he just used that as an excuse to NOT be with her.

She saw Greg was about to say something when she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “Do you want to come back to my place tonight?”

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. She didn’t want Granger, regardless of how nice he was. She wanted Matt. But if Casey was going to move on by sleeping with other woman, why shouldn’t she at least give Greg a chance?

Granger leaned back in his chair, surprised to hear Brett say what she had. He felt a small smile appear on his face, deciding the question he had about Casey could wait. “Of course Sylvie. Let’s get out of here.”

______________________

An hour later, Sylvie laid on her back in her bed next to a sleeping Granger. Looking up at the ceiling, she cursed herself. The decision to invite Greg back to her apartment was certainly not one of her best ideas, that was for sure. As soon as they had walked in, he began kissing her, causing her to instantly compare his kisses to Matt. At that point, she knew she needed to say something, because the truth was, she wanted to be kissing Matt, not him. But, she didn’t want to hurt him. He had been incredibly sweet since they had known each other and it wasn’t his fault she was still hung up on a certain blonde captain.

When he walked her back to her bedroom, she again thought about stopping, but the truth of the matter was she liked Granger. Maybe as not as much as Matt, but she still did to a degree. Also, there was something to be said for someone as hot and sweet as him wanting HER, and no one else. So, she went with it.

Now, as she laid there, she knew it was a huge mistake. She didn’t know what to expect, but she and Granger hadn’t made love, they fucked. Not that she was against a good, hard, sweaty fuck every now and then, but NOT when it was your first time together. Maybe later when you were settled in a relationship, but not from the onset. There was no foreplay, and Greg had also been a little rougher than she was expecting. He hadn’t hurt her, but he had certainly done some things that surprised her for their first time together. Worse of all, she hadn’t even had an orgasm and Granger didn’t seem to know or care about the fact she didn’t.

Overall, she felt just felt…well, used. And that was a feeling she HATED. She had hated it when she was with Harrison, and she vowed to never let it happen again. Knowing she would start crying if she thought about it anymore, she let herself wonder what making love to Matt would have been like, knowing in her heart it would have been completely different.

__________________

The next morning, Casey had already gotten up and taken a shower, reapplied his bandages, and was making himself breakfast before his dentist appointment. He had just sat down with his plate when Severide and Kidd came out of their bedroom.

“Morning you two.” Casey said cheerfully.

Kidd and Severide exchanged a look, unsure what had gotten into Casey. “Uh, what are you so happy about this morning?” Severide asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Nothing in particular.” Casey replied honestly.

Looking at him closely, Kidd wondered if she knew. “Does this have anything to do with Dr. Manning? Did you two already sleep together?”

Severide turned quickly at that news, not knowing what had happened since he had left Molly’s not long after Casey got there. “Manning? Good for you Casey. She is…” Severide stopped when Kidd shot him a dirty look. “Nice.” Kelly continued with a chuckle.

Raising his hands in front of him, Casey tried to stop the train he knew had already started. “Guys, Manning and I are just friends. She is seeing someone…well, she hopes she still is, but it’s complicated. Also, she knows that I am still crazy about Brett. We are JUST friends.”

Kidd and Severide knew Casey wasn’t lying, as their friend was a horrible liar. Instead, Kidd wondered if Brett knew about them only being friends, or if the reason she practically dragged Granger out of the bar last night had something to do with her thinking Manning and Casey were on a date?

____________________


	12. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Brett's night with Granger, she tries to figure out what to do next. Meanwhile, Casey gets an odd phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 12! This chapter picks up the next morning after Granger spent the night with Brett. Thanks to all of you for your continued support of this story. At this point, it looks like I should be able to get done by around Chapter 30 or so, and I hope to have all of them up before the next Chicago Fire episode on 3/10.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

Casey was walking back to the loft after getting a new crown put in when he noticed a large tin on the ground in front of their front door, with a note tented on top of it. For the briefest moment, Casey actually hoped it was from Sylvie, but he reminded himself that she was with Granger now.

Bending down to pick it up as slowly as he could to not hurt his ribs, he opened the card when he stood up.

_Matt,_

_I can’t tell you how happy I am you are okay. Thanks for always watching out for Christopher. Please accept these brownies as a token of my appreciation. We, and all the kids, want you to come over to dinner soon so we can see you. It’s been too long._

_Love,_

_Cindy_

_PS – All the kids told me to tell you they miss their Uncle Matt_

Walking in the door, Casey was beyond touched that Cindy would go out of her way to not only make him brownies, but also deliver them to the loft. He has just sent the brownies on the table when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his back pocket, he saw it was Boden.

“Chief, good morning.” Casey said.

“How are you feeling?” Boden asked quickly.

“Fine Chief. I just got back from the dentist and have a new front tooth, and I am being as gentle with my ribs as I can be. I should be back to work before you know it.”

There was a pause before Boden replied. “That is what I am calling you about. Would you feel up to coming to the firehouse for roll call next shift? I know you are out, but I have some things I need to share with you.”

Instantly curious as to why Boden wanted to see him in person as opposed to telling him over the phone, he accepted without hesitation.

“Great.” Boden replied. I will see you next shift. Feel better.”

As Casey ended the call, he looked around the empty loft, wondering just what was going on.

___________________

Across town, Sylvie was already up, showered, and dressed for a spin class when Granger woke up.

“Good morning.” Granger said, not able to hide the smile on his face.

“Morning.” Sylvie replied as evenly as she could. “I hope I didn’t wake you when I was getting ready.”

Shaking his head, Granger then noticed she was dressed. “Why are you dressed? Why don’t you come back to bed and we can have a repeat performance of last night?” Greg said as sweetly as he could, reaching his hand out for her.

Knowing that was the last thing she wanted, Sylvie let herself tell a little white lie. “Unfortunately, I have to teach a spin class in an hour. I just wanted to make sure I could lock my door before I left.” Sylvie said, PRAYING he would get the hint.

He let his eyes fall to the bed before looking back up at her. “Well, you know if I had a key to your place that wouldn’t be a problem.”

_What the hell,_ Sylvie wondered. _Is he really asking me for a key to my place?_ Trying to force her best smile, she didn’t answer, and instead moved into the kitchen to grab herself a protein bar. Taking that hint, Granger started getting dressed.

When he was fully clothed again, Sylvie let out a breath she had no idea she was holding. She met him at the door, surprised when he quickly gave her a kiss. “I enjoyed last night Sylvie. Call me later, okay?”

Nodding quickly, Sylvie got both of them to the other side of her apartment door, locking it behind her. As they walked down the stairs, she asked him about his day, even though she knew she could care less what he told her.

_______________

As soon as Sylvie was out of her spin class, she texted Kidd to see if she was available for lunch. When Stella said she was, that made a plan to meet in an hour. As soon as Sylvie sat down in the booth at the restaurant, she turned to a smiling Kidd.

“Kidd, I REALLY screwed up last night.”

Stella frowned, and after Brett had told her about EVERYTHING that had transpired last night and this morning, Kidd finally spoke up. “I am sorry Brett. I thought Granger would be GOOD for you.”

Waving her off, Sylvie took a sip of her water. “It’s not your fault. All of this is on me. It’s just…when I saw Casey out with Manning, I don’t know…it made me want to do whatever I could to forget about him, which of course I failed miserably at.”

Knowing this was her chance, Stella took it. “Brett, Casey and Manning were NOT on a date. He was just repaying her for taking care of him after the fire. He told me and Kelly that he told her about you, and she told him she is seeing someone…or trying to see someone too.”

Sylvie sat there, stunned, trying to wrap her brain around that news. It sure LOOKED like Casey was on another date. Finally, after a few minutes, Sylvie said something.

“Damn it, Kidd. Why do I have to be in love with Matt Casey?”

Her friend’s words caused Stella to lean closer to the table. “I knew it! You really are in love with the Captain.”

Shaking her head, Brett tried to remember what Casey had said one time on a call when he was frustrated. _Oh, I remember,_ she thought. _Fuck me._

Knowing her friend was overwhelmed with thinking about Casey, Kidd decided to lighten the mood. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Kelly and I are engaged...but you CAN NOT tell anyone else.”

________________

That night, both Casey and Brett tossed and turned in their respective beds, both of their minds consumed with various thoughts. Casey was wondering what Boden had to tell him, and Brett was wondering what she was going to do about Granger.

The only thing that the both of them were thinking about in common was how wonderful it would be if they could be together.

____________________


	13. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Casey goes to meet with Boden, getting a surprise in the process. Meanwhile, Brett is trying to come to grips with with her life is at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 13! Things are really going to start picking up steam with this chapter. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't thank all of you again for your support of my little fan fic. Between the number of hits this story has gotten, the comments and kudos, you all make me want to write even more stories for you in the future!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The next morning, Casey threw on his white Captains shirt and work pants, even though he knew he wouldn’t be working. At some point while he was tossing and turning the previous night, he decided to feel out Boden about just working in the office during his injury leave. He knew no one else would complete reports while he was out, so why not at least work on those while he did nothing?

Pulling up about 745am he saw all the vehicles of the rest of his coworkers already there. Walking in slowly to not jostle his ribs, he quickly felt like he was back home.

“Hey Captain!” Tony shouted from the Squad table, before moving over to shake his hand. “Damn good to see you up and walking around.”

“Thanks.” Casey said before moving into the bullpen.

When he walked in, most everyone was eating breakfast. Scanning the room quickly, he could see Sylvie sitting between Mackay and Kidd. His first thought was the she looked tired…or sad. It was hard to tell. But he knew something was going on because her smile wasn’t it’s normal, radiating self.

When Cruz saw him, he made enough noise that everyone got up from the places to come over to shake his hand and tell him they hoped he felt better. As he worked through the line of coworkers, he noticed he had seen everyone but Sylvie. Looking over Mackay’s head, he could see Brett was still sitting at her table, with what almost looked like glassy eyes, like she was about to cry.

After talking to Mackay, Casey was about to move over to sit down beside Sylvie when he heard Boden speak. “ROLL CALL. Everyone in the meeting room.”

Casey saw Sylvie jump up, so he smiled to her, not finding the same in return. _Huh, I wonder what is going on with Sylvie,_ he wondered.

__________________

As everyone settled into their normal places, Casey moved to stand against the back wall beside Severide. The Chief talked about a few housekeeping items, which made Casey wonder why the Chief had wanted him here for this. Right as he thought that, he saw Commissioner Grissom and two of his Deputies from CFD Headquarters walk into the room, standing near Boden at the front of the room.

Boden let out a smile before turning to the rest of the group. “And now, I am going to hand this meeting over to Commissioner Grissom.”

Shaking Boden’s hand, Grissom moved to podium Boden had just left. After quickly scanning all the faces in the room, he started. “Everyone, I want to commend all of you for the job you did last shift at the high rise fire.”

Sneaking a glance over at Severide, Casey began to worry about what was about to happen.

“Due to all of 51’s, 40’s, and 23’s teamwork, we were able to save hundreds of residents and keep the fire damage to a few floors instead of the entire building.” Pausing, Grissom looked over at Casey. “Captain Casey, please come up to the front of the room.”

The dread Casey had been feeling multiplied as he walked slowly to the front of the room. Glancing to his right, he caught Brett’s glance for a second, seeing nothing but worry on it. When he got to the front, Grissom shook his hand.

“Everyone,” Grissom continued. “I am here today to inform you that Captain Matthew Casey will be receiving the Medal of Valor for his heroism and sacrifice, one week from today. As most of you know, the Medal of Valor is the highest award a firefighter can receive in the State of Illinois.”

“Captain,” Grissom said, turning to shake a dumbfounded Casey’s hand one more time. “Congratulations.”

Standing there, numb, Casey shook Grissom’s hand as everyone applauded. With the announcement over, Casey watched Grissom and his men turn and leave. Before he knew it, Boden had come and shaken his hand too.

“Okay people,” Boden said. “Invite all of your family to come to Casey’s ceremony. Because, for the first time in my career, I will be watching someone receive the Medal of Valor who didn’t die in a fire.”

________________

After Boden’s words, Casey was again surrounded by his friends and co-workers, all congratulating him again. Once again, everyone spoke to him but Sylvie. Casey could see her standing against the back wall, even noticing when Kidd went over and talked to her. 

After the last hand was shaken, Casey was about to go talk to Sylvie when he heard Boden call his name.

“Casey, come back to my office, please.”

Nodding, Casey began to move towards Boden, stopping briefly by Sylvie. He immediately noticed she didn’t even look at him, but she still said “Congratulations” softly to him. He was about to ask her if they could talk when he heard Boden again.

“Now please Casey.”

Sighing, Casey put his hand on Sylvie’s shoulder, squeezing it one time, before he walked by her towards Boden’s office.

______________

“How are feeling. Really?” Boden asked when they sat down in his office.

“Good Chief.” Casey replied. “I am taking it easy to let my ribs heal. I was going to ask if it would be okay for me to at least come back to desk duty?”

Shaking his head, Boden clasped his hands in front of him. “Unfortunately not Casey. Let me tell you why I asked you to come in today, and then I can answer any questions you have when I am done.”

Nodding, Casey eased himself back in the chair to get more comfortable.

“First, OFI has ruled the fire at the high rise to be an act of arson. I will know more when I have the final report in my hands, but they have already alerted Voight and Intelligence about this.”

“I was going to guess that.” Casey replied honestly. “That fire was burning too hot and was too active for the amount of water Mouch had thrown at it.”

Leaning back, Boden thought it was odd Casey had left his own name out, considering he had control of the hose a lot longer than Mouch did. “Secondly, I mentioned to you when I picked you up that Grissom ordered you to meet with a counselor before you could be reinstated…and that includes desk duty. He just wants to…make sure you are in the right frame of mind to come back.”

Matt was about to protest this but he knew better, when Boden hit him with the follow up. “And, I have gotten them to come here to meet with you as soon as we are done.”

Floored, Casey wasn’t sure if he should be thankful for Boden arranging this meeting so quickly, or if the CFD was hoping to catch him say something wrong while he was recovering. Deciding to let it go, he remained silent.

“And finally,” Boden added. “Grissom apologized because he wanted to talk to you about his himself, but he got called back into a meeting down town.”

Taking a breath, Wallace was very careful about what he said next, but was also very honest. “What I am about to say to you doesn’t leave this room. Copy?”

“Of course.” Casey replied honestly.

Leaning forward even more, Boden caught Casey’s gaze as his tone turned even more serious. “Grissom has been notified that Chief Reynolds of Firehouse 3 is getting ready to retire. So, he asked me to feel you out about the possibility of replacing him.”

____________________


	14. Longing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Casey continues to meet with the Chief, Kidd and Brett have an honest conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 14! I appreciate all of you who have helped push this little fan fic over 5,000 hits. That is just amazing, and I can't thank all of you enough for taking time to not only read my story, but also to comment (some comments are REALLY insightful) and send kudos. I just started Chapter 24, so you will get 2 chapters every day from now on. I would like to have this finished up before the next Fire episode on 3/10.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Brett, Kidd, and Severide were sitting at a table in the common room, talking about Casey getting the Medal of Valor. As Severide and Kidd kept the conversation going, Brett would find herself glancing down the hallway to see if Casey was still in with Boden.

“Don’t you think Matt has been in with Boden for a long time?” Brett asked, seeing by the clock their meeting was now at almost 40 minutes.

Severide glanced at Kidd, quickly throwing his head towards Brett. “It has.” Severide replied before getting up to head back to his quarters, hoping to hear something as he walked by.

As soon as Kelly was gone, Kidd turned to her best friend. “Hey, what’s going on with you today? You didn’t greet Casey when he came in this morning, and you don’t even look at him when he gets his commendation.”

Playing with the band on her watch, Sylvie knew she didn’t have a good answer to that question. Deciding to be honest with her friend, she leaned closer so she could whisper.

“Kidd, you said it the other day and it is finally starting to hit me. I AM in love with Matt. But the problem is, I don’t want to be.” Sylvie said before blowing all the air out of her lungs. “It’s obvious that he doesn’t want to be with me, and then I am technically with Greg now…or not...I don't know. I just don’t know how to move on from Matt when it seems like EVERY little thing he does only make my feelings for him stronger.”

Taking that information in, Kidd tried to formulate a good follow up question. “Let me ask you this, Brett. If you knew Casey was in love with you too, would it make a difference?”

______________

Boden was discussing the benefits of Firehouse 3, while Casey’s mind raced with the possibilities. “3 is a downtown house,” Boden said, stated the obvious. “therefore, you are going to always have the best equipment and your pick of people. Also, being Chief of 3 is going to immediately put you on a very short list of potential future Commissioners. The downfall is, every thing you do and say, every call you make, is going to be micromanaged. But, as you already know, these Chief positions don’t come open often, and it is VERY rare for someone as young as you to have this opportunity.”

“Well,” Casey replied seriously. “I guess I have a LOT to think about while I am out, don’t I?”

Seeing Casey would at least consider it, he answered his Captain. “Yes, you do. And, because of that, don’t even worry about desk duty. However, you do need to go meet with your therapist. They should be here any minute now.”

“Thank you Chief…for everything.” Casey said sincerely.

Right as Casey was leaving Boden’s office, the siren went off for all 4 of 51’s vehicles. Turning towards the common room, he saw Sylvie staring at him for a few moments, before she turned and ran out towards her vehicle.

________________

The meeting with the CFD therapist took a grand total of 15 minutes. They just wanted to make sure Casey wasn’t dealing with any type of “hero complex”, nor was he suffering from PTSD. Sitting in his quarters alone, he reached for his wallet, feeling his side spasm as he did. Chiding himself for forgetting, he grabbed Manning’s card. As he texted her, he smiled.

Matt: Hey Doc. Could really use someone to talk to when you get some time. If you have time tonight, dinner is on me.

Throwing his phone back on his cot, he contemplated leaving 51. _Could I even do that,_ he wondered? And then in a moment of clarity, he asked himself the most important question.

_If Sylvie is with Granger, would it be easier to not have to see the woman I am in love with every third day?_

____________________

At Chicago Med, Manning walked out of the Doctor’s Lounge completely frustrated. Crockett had told her that when she came over to find his ex-wife there, that it meant nothing. The sad part was that Natalie _sort of_ believed him. On the other hand, she had been hurt so many times, she could already feel her defenses coming up.

As she walked to grab a patient chart, she felt her phone buzz. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled it out to see a text from Matt. Smiling as she read it, she knew she might need a talk as much as him.

Natalie: Definitely Casey. You tell me where and when and I am there.

Feeling lighter, she headed to see her patient thinking about how nice it was to have someone to talk to without the pressure of worrying everyone would find out her deepest worries.

_________________

As Mackay pulled 61 back into their parking space back at the firehouse after their call, Sylvie hopped out of the ambo knowing she had to see Matt. As she made her way through the common room towards his quarters, she passed Severide.

“Don’t worry. Casey isn’t there.” Severide said, shaking his head.

_Fudge,_ Sylvie thought.

________________

That night, Matt and Natalie ate a Mexican restaurant. For the second time, they both felt comfortable telling each other anything and everything that they were concerned with. Casey listened to Natalie talk about Crockett’s ex-wife and her admission that she really liked her co-worker. She also talked about a tough loss she had when a patient coded and passed away when she thought everything with them had looked good.

Casey, on the other hand, talked to her about the pros and cons of taking the Chief’s position, as well as how odd Sylvie had been acting. By the end of the night, they were both calling each other by their first names, with Casey even letting out “Nat” a few times. When they hugged goodbye, they both knew if anyone asked them about the other, they could both readily admit one thing.

They were now friends.

___________________

Brett sat on the couch of 51, watching HGTV at 1am. She had already texted Granger that she was exhausted and asked for a rain check for their breakfast that morning. When he offered to come over after shift, she told him that she needed to rest, an excuse that he luckily didn’t press.

What she really needed, though, was to figure out how to talk to Matt about what she knew she needed to. She had come to the conclusion during shift that she and Casey either needing to give being together a chance, Gabby and Granger be damned, or just be friends and agree to NEVER see the other one as a romantic possibility again. She knew she had already told Casey they couldn’t be a couple before, but she hoped that Kidd was right when she said Casey didn’t believe she was shutting the door on them for good.

As Sylvie leaned back on her couch, she grabbed a throw pillow from the other end of the couch and pulled it to her chest hugging it tightly.

_Just once, can Matt and I be on the same page?_

________________________


	15. Texts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kidd and Casey try to coerce Casey into talking to Brett. At the same time, Brett has to deal with an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 15! Most of you have asked what is going with Sylvie and Granger, and this is the first of two parts (Chapter 16 completes the cliffhanger), before things really spin off their axis for our favorite couple.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When Matt got home, he was met with the complete silence of an empty apartment. Smiling at how nice the quiet was, at least every once and a while, he went into his room. After slowing sitting on his bed, he pulled up the Zillow app. For the next 45 minutes, he looked at houses and townhouses that might fit his budget.

He knew at this point in his life he didn’t want to rent again. In addition, he hoped to one day be married and have kids, and what better way to build toward that than taking the next steps forward in his life and buying a place that he would own.

As he added potential properties to his favorites, he felt a sense of melancholy fall over him. Not because he was moving out. Severide and Kidd getting married was nothing but great news. No, what was making Casey sad was that in the past, Sylvie would have been the first person he called about moving out. She loved real estate and he knew she would have liked nothing more than looking for places with him and having him explain how he could renovate them. But now, with her with Granger, he knew that wouldn’t be an option. Sure, two friends could go look at houses together, he thought. _But can I go look at houses with Sylvie when she isn’t mine, but I am still in love with her?_

As he sat there, he knew there was one other reason he was feeling sad. He had always wanted to buy a house WITH Sylvie, not just by himself.

_____________

Casey woke to the sound of Kidd and Severide coming back home after shift. Not realizing he fell asleep with his clothes on, he slowly stood up before going to greet them.

“Hey you two.” Casey said groggily.

Kelly glanced at Stella before he replied. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Good.” Casey said, knowing that for once it was the truth. 

Now noticing that Casey was in his same clothes from yesterday, Kidd couldn’t help but ask. “Hey. You still have on what you did yesterday. Are you sure there isn’t something going on with Manning?”

Slowly shaking his head, he laughed at how persistent Kidd was. “No Kidd. NOTHING is going on between me and Nat except for being friends….good friends I think, but friends nonetheless.”

Severide couldn’t help himself. “Really Case? You texted me you two went out to dinner last night. Now you just called her Nat. Are you SURE you are just friends?”

“Definitely.” Replied Matt emphatically. “She is crazy about someone else. As for me, I have decided that I don’t need to go out with anyone else until I get over Sylvie. It’s not fair to start dating someone when I am still in love with someone else.”

Letting her mouth fall open, Stella was shocked to hear Casey express his feelings for Brett, especially in light of her and Brett’s talk from yesterday. “Casey, I know Brett is dating Granger, but I really think you need to tell her how you feel, once and for all. I think it might be good for the two of you to finally get on the same page.”

Taking in his friend’s advice, Casey weighed the pros and cons of talking to Sylvie. “I don’t know Kidd. Sylvie only said one word to me at the firehouse yesterday. It makes me think she feels awkward around me now that she is dating Granger.”

Knowing they needed to get their friends to talk, Kelly joined in. “Maybe so Casey. But Brett did come looking for you when we got back from our call, but you were already gone. Maybe she wants to talk to you too.”

Sylvie wanting to talk to him yesterday was news to Casey. If he had known that, he would have hung around instead of leaving. _Maybe we do need to sit down and clear the air,_ Casey thought. “Okay, I will think about it. I was looking at new places to live last night when I fell asleep, and I know how much she likes that. Maybe I will text her and ask her for her help. That’s not too outside the friend zone, is it?”

‘NO!” Stella and Kelly replied together, both faster than they meant to.

Eyeing them both suspiciously, Casey knew something was up, but he just didn’t know what. Changing the subject, he asked them something HE wanted to know. “So, when are you going to tell everyone about the engagement?”

______________________

Sylvie was curled up on her couch when she heard a knock at her door. Instantly, she felt a rush thinking it might be Matt. Running to the door, she looked through the peephole, her spirits falling when she saw it was Granger. Opening the door for him, she stood in the doorway, hoping he would get the hint and not ask to come in.

“Hey,” he said happily, bending over to kiss her softly. “I just thought if you weren’t up for breakfast, maybe we could just hang around and watch HGTV this morning.

Not able to hide her smile, Brett couldn’t help but think how sweet Greg’s offer was. That was exactly what the Greg she had grown to like would have done, something that was the antithesis to the Greg she slept with. Stepping aside, she let him move into her apartment, where he quickly plopped down on the sofa beside where she had been sitting.

“What are you watching?” He asked, seeing her TV paused on HGTV already.

“WE are watching Property Brothers.” She replied happily. “But let me run to the bathroom first before we start.”

Granger laughed as he saw Sylvie run to her bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Suddenly, he felt a vibration beside him. Standing up, he saw it was Sylvie’s phone, which was still unlocked, with an incoming text….from Captain Matt Casey.

Matt: Good Morning! I wanted to let you know that I am looking for a new place to live again, and wondered if you might want to help me? No pressure, but I know you have an eye for this kind of thing. Just let me know. Thanks!

Reading the text, Granger could feel his temper start to rise at Casey texting HIS girlfriend. Well, they had never named what they were, but that is how he thought of her. Without hesitation, Greg deleted the text from Casey before putting Brett’s phone back where he found it. He had just sat back down when Sylvie came back into the room, taking the seat on her couch beside him.

‘So Sylvie,” he said, looking at her hopefully. “I wanted to see if you would like to come with me tomorrow night and meet my family?”

____________________


	16. Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Brett wonders what is going on with Granger, Casey waits for her to reply to his text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 16! We have now reached the half way point of this story (or at least we should by my terrible calculations on how many chapters are left). As always, thanks to all of you are reading along, commenting, and adding kudos. Everyone of you makes it REALLY easy to write stories for Brettsey.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Immediately, Brett felt her senses go on high alert. _Isn’t it REALLY early to be meeting Greg’s family,_ she wondered _?_ Maybe if they had been dating longer, sure, but after this short a period of time? Instinctively, she wondered if Matt asked her to meet Christie and Violet, would she feel the same way? She knew she wouldn’t, and the only difference was the length of time that she and Casey had been friends. It was still REALLY early for her and Greg to take that step. She was about to answer him when he threw another curveball at her.

“And hey,” he said quickly. “I know you have been wanting to go home to see your folks. Why don’t we take some furlough and drive down to Fowlerton together?”

Standing up, Brett had gone from concerned to upset in a nanosecond. “Wait a second Greg. Where is this all coming from?” Sylvie asked, curious as to what was causing him to ramp up their relationship so fast.

Granger stood up to face Brett, looking into her eyes with as much conviction as he could muster. “I am RAMPING our relationship up Sylvie, because I love you.”

Feeling all the air leave her body, Sylvie involuntarily took a step away from him. “Love me Greg? We have only been on a handful of dates?”

“And that is all I need to know Sylvie.” He replied hastily, moving closer to her again. “And now that I know I love you, I just don’t want to waste any more time.”

Taking another step backwards, Brett felt her chair hit the back of her knees. She was confused by what Greg was saying….as none of it made sense. It was just too soon, and she DEFINITELY didn’t feel the same about him. Like him? Of course. But love him? Not at all. She wasn’t sure she could EVER love him, and definitely not when she still loved Matt. For a brief second, she wondered if Matt had just said what Greg said, would she have acted differently? When she knew she would have, she knew she had to put an end to this.

“Gr…” she started, but was cut off by Granger’s lips meeting hers. Using her hands to push him off, she stepped around her chair, using it as a buffer between them. “Greg, listen to me. I am sorry, but I just don’t feel that way about you, and I am not sure that I ever will.”

Stepping back, Granger looked like he had seen a ghost. “But the other night,” he said slowly. “We made love…”

Feeling her anger rise up within her, Brett couldn’t contain the words leaving her mouth. “No Greg, you FUCKED me. And trust me, there is DEFINITELY a difference between that and making love.”

Chewing on his lip, Granger looked at Brett as he stewed over her words. “You know what Sylvie,” he said loudly, his voice carrying through her apartment, “maybe we did fuck, but at least I am not secretly pining for a man who doesn’t give a shit about me.”

Greg’s words hit the target as he saw tears well up in Sylvie’s eyes. “I think you need to leave.” Sylvie said through trembling lips. 

Moving to the door, Greg turned towards her as he opened it. “Just remember Sylvie, I only wanted you. Which is a lot more than I can say for Matt Fucking Casey.”

Sylvie closed her eyes just in time to hear her apartment door slam so hard that the pictures she had on the wall shook. As soon as she opened them and saw Greg was gone, she rushed over and locked the door, flipped the deadbolt, and set the chain. After that was done, she grabbed her phone and ran to her bedroom and climbed under the covers, before finally letting herself cry.

_____________

Casey kept checking his phone throughout the day, only getting one text from Cindy, asking him if he wanted to come to dinner that night. Agreeing immediately, he spent the rest of the afternoon looking through websites, trying to see if he could find a Realtor who he knew, and more importantly trusted.

By 6pm, as he was getting ready to head towards the Hermann’s, he put his phone on mute, assuming that Sylvie, in fact, did not want to help him look for a new place.

As soon as he got to his friend’s house and knocked on the door, he was greeted by Hermann with a handshake and a beer. Smiling, he let Cindy hug him gently, while she whispered in his ear.

“Thank you SO much for taking care of Christopher, Matt. I don’t know what we would do if we lost him, or you for that matter.”

Casey barely had time to get out “It was nothing”, before he was attacked by all the Hermann clan.

“Gentle now!” Cindy reminded her kids, as they all jostled to hug Casey next. After hugging all of them, he remembered just how much he loved this family, and in turn, missed the kids.

“It has been too long since I have seen all of you.” Casey said happily, as Annabelle latched herself onto Casey’s side.

“It has been way too long Captain.” Hermann replied. “So, let’s eat this great meal Cindy has made for you, and maybe you will start coming back.”

_____________

Brett had only left her bed once, and that was to fix something for lunch. She had called Kidd, but wasn’t able to get her, instead leaving her a voicemail. She thought about going to Molly’s to see if she was there, but she was afraid to leave the house for fear of running in Granger. She didn’t think he would hurt her, but there was a fire in his eyes when he had been angry this morning that had her wondering if he could be violent, especially after how he was when they had sex.

Picking up her phone, she thought about reaching out to the one person she ALWAYS used to reach out to when things in her life felt out of control…Matt. But was it fair for her to go cry on his shoulder because she had broken up with ANOTHER man? She wasn’t sure their friendship was back to that point yet. Worse than that, how could she seek out Matt to comfort her for breaking up with Granger, and then turn around and tell him she was in love with him? That had disaster written all over it, and after her experience with Granger, she wasn’t sure she was ready for another man to be disappointed in her, especially Matt.

_______________


	17. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Sylvie deals with the fallout of Granger, Matt tries to move forward with his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 17! This story has now crossed over 6,000 hits, which is incredible. This is sort of a transition chapter that takes us to the next big arc that runs until almost the end of the story, which is 29 chapters (I finished it today!) Your continued reading, comments, and kudos mean the world to me.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Matt had just walked into the loft, seeing that Kidd and Severide had already retreated back to their room. _It’s only 8:30pm,_ he thought. _Man, I really need my own place._ He had gotten the name of a Realtor from Cindy at dinner and had texted the sales person before he left, a text that was replied to almost instantly, which he liked. Having set up a meeting with her for tomorrow at 9am, Casey had a list of 10 properties to go see.

_Too bad Sylvie isn’t going with me._

He thought about texting her again. He found it strange that she hadn’t answered him at all. He would have expected at least a, “no I don’t think that is a good idea” or “I am busy”, but he didn’t get anything. He made a mental note to ask Kidd about that tomorrow if he saw her before he left.

___________________

Brett was half way to her parent’s house in Fowlerton when her phone rang. Seeing it was her mom, she answered and spoke to her through her car’s sound system.

“Hey mom.” Sylvie said evenly.

“Hey sweetie. Your Dad and I just got home and got your message. Not that we don’t want to see you, but why are you coming home?”

Sylvie pushed down her emotions once again before replying. “No reason Mom. I just have some extra furlough so I thought I would come home to see you all. It’s been way too long with COVID and now that you and Dad have both had your second shot, I figured now would be as good as time as any.”

Knowing something was off with her daughter, Carol Brett decided to let any further examination wait until Sylvie got home. After telling her to be careful, Carol hung up the phone before turning to her husband, Frank.

“Well, something is DEFINITELY up with Sylvie.”

__________________

The next morning Matt was up and out of the loft before Severide or Kidd made an appearance. He was beginning to feel better, as his ribs weren’t hurting as much. Even with that, he knew he still had to go back and see Nat before he could even hope for more than desk duty.

Meeting his Realtor, Ramona Whittington, at her office, he was pleased to find the older woman to be just how Cindy had said she would be. Prepared and ready to go. With appointments already lined up for all 10 properties, Casey got into her car and they were on their way.

When Casey got to the 3rd house, he immediately knew he didn’t to need to look any further. It was an older brick home in a good area of town, only about 15 minutes from 51, and 25 from Firehouse 3. It was a 2 story house, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms upstairs, and a nice sized backyard. On the main floor, it had a kitchen, den, dining room, and a small study. What made this house perfect was the full basement it had. The previous was just using it for storage, but Casey knew he could convert it to finished living area if the need arose for very little money, which would dramatically increase the value of the home.

As he walked around the house, the contractor in him came out, as he had a notepad out and was writing what needed to be fixed and/or updated, and what the cost would be. As he finished his tour, he could already tell that he could do all but about 15% of what needed to be updated, which would help keep his total cash outlay low. Yes, the repairs would take a while, but at the price it was on the market for, with some negotiating room per Ramona, he knew this one it.

Turning to his agent, he smiled for the first time today. “This is it Ramona. Let’s make an offer.”

________________

Matt had just gotten back to the loft when his phone rang. “Ramona, I didn’t expect to hear from you this soon. What did they say about my offer?”

“Well Matt,” Ramona said excitedly. “Looks like you just bought yourself a house. They accepted your offer on the spot.”

After speaking about next steps, mortgage loans, escrow and the like, Casey got off the phone feeling like he actually WAS moving forward with his life. As he fixed himself a sandwich, he grabbed his phone, his hands pulling up Sylvie’s name like always. Sighing, he instead scrolled back up his list of contacts, hitting the message button by Nat’s name.

Matt: Got some big news to share. Text me when you are free. No rush

As soon as he laid his phone down on the table, Matt felt a pang of sorrow over not having Sylvie in his life anymore. Well, at least not the way she had been. Vowing to find a time to talk to her, he ate his sandwich, thinking about how much had changed over the last 2 months.

___________________

By the time Sylvie got to her parent’s farm, it was too late to talk, so they all just went upstairs to go to bed. For once, Sylvie didn’t set an alarm clock, and with her phone on silent, she slept until almost 9:45am. After she threw on a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt, Sylvie brushed her teeth and applied deodorant before heading downstairs.

Her father was already at work on the farm, so she found her mother in the kitchen waiting for her.

“Well there you are sweetie. I thought I was going to have to come check on you in a little while.” Carol said, hugging her daughter tightly.

Moving to reheat some of the leftovers from breakfast, Sylvie smiled a little at her Mom. “Just tired I guess, Mom.”

After her food was ready, Sylvie sat down at the table with her Mom across the table from her. Just like she had always done since 6th grade, Sylvie proceeded to tell her Mom everything that was going on, both good and bad. Well, except for the sex part.

_______________


	18. News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Casey and Brett both think about each other, now from different states, Severide and KIdd share some news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 18! We are now over half way through this fan fic, as the last chapter will be at 29. Thanks to everyone who is still reading and commenting. I appreciate it more than you know. Also, for those who wanted to hear about Severide's proposal, this is the chapter. Chapter 19 will ramp up the action until we get to our conclusion on chapter 28 (29 is an epilogue).
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“Sweetheart!” Carol said suddenly. “It’s really not this hard. If you are in love with Matt, then you need to talk to him. REALLY talk to him. If he is still hung up on your ex-partner, then at least you will have done everything you can to try to make it work. If he doesn’t feel the same, then you can move on knowing that it is truly over.”

Sylvie nodded, knowing her Mom was right. However, there was one thing she was missing. “I know, okay. But you don’t know just how heartbroken I was when he said he wasn’t sure about Gabby. It’s like I went from feeling the highest high to the lowest low in the span of 30 seconds. It took me WEEKS before I could even really talk to Matt again. If I tell him I am in love with him and he doesn’t feel the same, how am I ever going to be able to work with him for 24 hours straight every 3 day?”

Cleaning Sylvie’s plate, her Mom contemplated her daughter’s words. Knowing there were no perfect answer, she gave her the best advice she could. “Well sweetie. I think if Matt doesn’t feel the same, then you either have to tough it out or switch firehouses.”

Letting her face fall into her hands, Sylvie knew that both of those situations were the LAST ones she wanted. Closing her eyes, she saw Matt smiling at her in her mind. 

_Well, I have to do something. Because what I am doing now just isn’t working._

___________________

That night, Casey met Nat for drinks at a bar in between both of their places. Casey showed Manning pictures of the house, telling her what he planned to renovate. Manning told Matt that things with Crockett felt like they were getting better.

“I am happy for you Nat. You deserve it.” Casey said honestly.

Smiling at her friend, Manning couldn’t believe how lucky she got to get to know Matt. He was one of the few men who she could REALLY talk to about personal things. “I appreciate that Matt. I really do. But, regardless of whatever is going on in with me and Crockett, I will definitely be there for your Medal of Valor ceremony.”

Toasting to that, Casey let his smile take up his whole face. _Maybe, if Sylvie doesn’t feel the same way as I do, this is how Sylvie and I can be one day,_ he wondered.

________________

When Casey got home, Kidd and Severide were watching a movie, cuddled up on the couch together under a blanket. Taking the chair beside them, he waited for a commercial break to talk. When the movie had one, he broke in.

“So, I wanted to let you know that I bought a house today.” Casey announced.

Severide looked shock, so Kidd replied first. “Seriously Casey? That’s awesome. Did Brett go with you?”

Shaking his head, Casey couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face. “Nope. She never even replied to my text.”

As Kidd pondered that, Kelly jumped in. “Case, I’m happy for you, really. But we were serious when we said you didn’t have to move out.”

Matt waved them off. “I know, and I appreciate how long you already let me stay. But you two are engaged now. You need your own place so you can start your own life together. Besides, it’s about time I moved forward with mine. I feel like I have been stuck in neutral for a while.”

As Casey showed Severide pictures of the house and what his plans were, Kidd moved into her bedroom and grabbed her phone. Typing as fast as her fingers could, she sent Brett a message.

Stella: Hey, what’s going on? I called you back yesterday and got your voicemail and Casey texted you yesterday morning and said you never even replied to him?

Sitting there on her and Kelly’s bed, Stella wondered what was going on with Brett. The only thing she guessed was that Brett had decided not to tell Casey how she felt.

______________

The next morning at shift, Boden told Kidd and Severide that Brett was taking furlough and they would have a floater paramedic. After asking the Chief for a favor, they set in plans how to tell everyone at the firehouse. Since Casey and Brett already knew, they didn’t have to worry about either of them not being there that day.

After roll call, Boden asked Severide and Kidd to come up to the front of the room. As all their co-workers looked at them oddly, Severide broke the news.

“Everyone, I want all of you to know that I asked Stella to marry me and she said yes!”

For the next 30 minutes, there were hugs, handshakes, and congratulations from everyone. As they were about to finish up, Mackay asked the question she knew Brett would ask.

“So Kidd, how did Severide propose?”

Smiling, Kidd told everyone the story. “Well, it was the morning after the high rise fire. It seems that Casey telling Kelly over the radio to marry me worked, because after we got home, I got into the shower. When I walked back in the bedroom, Kelly was already down on one knee.”

“That’s right.” Severide added. “I told her she was the best thing to ever happen to me, and after what we had just experienced, I always wanted to be hers and for her to be mine. Life is just too short to wait anymore.”

As everyone moved into the kitchen, Joe slapped Severide on the back. “Man, I bet Brett and Casey would have loved to hear that story.”

_______________

Across town, Casey was at his bank, filling out his mortgage application. He had gotten pre-qualified when he decided to start looking, so now it was just a matter of making it official and handing over every scrap of paper that they asked for.

As he was getting back in his truck, he found his mind drifting back to Sylvie. He knew she was with Granger, but he still felt the need to tell her how he felt. If she didn’t feel the same, then maybe he could finally move on. Maybe there was another woman like Sylvie and Nat out there looking for someone like him at that very minute. For a moment, he contemplated driving by 51 to try to talk to her, but he knew that what he needed to say didn’t need to be at the mercy of the bells going off. Instead, he headed to a furniture store, knowing the list of items he needed for the house was extensive and he had some planning to do.

_________________

In Fowlerton, Brett had just read Kidd’s text from the night before. For once in a long while, she had left her phone in her purse and instead just focused on her parents. They had enjoyed each other’s company so much that when she went to bed, she slept even better than the night before. There was something to be said about sleeping in your childhood bed to do that.

Looking through her texts, she didn’t find one from Matt. She shot her friend a reply.

Sylvie: Sorry Kidd, I came to see my parents the night you called. I don’t have a text from Matt, so not sure what is going on. Maybe he forgot to send it or something?

________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, about the proposal. The more I thought about Severide the more I thought he wouldn't do anything elaborate. He would just ask Kidd. So that's how I wrote it.


	19. Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvie is surprised at her parent's home in Fowlerton. Meanwhile, Casey gets his own surprise in Chicago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 19! Hold on Brettsey lovers, as this chapter starts the arc that will take us to our finale! Your continued support of this little fan fic is much appreciated.
> 
> So, with that said, on with Chapter 19. Hope you enjoy!

Deciding to treat her parents, Brett drove into downtown Fowlerton, all 5 square blocks of it, to grab lunch from their favorite diner. After catching up with the owner, who Sylvie had known since she was a teenager, she paid for her meal and carried their lunch back to her car. She had just turned back onto the main road when she saw a silver Jeep pull onto the road about 3 blocks ahead of her.

For a moment, she felt her stomach drop. _God that looks like Greg’s car,_ she thought. Trying to catch up to it, she got caught at a stoplight. Noticing the Jeep turned right about a quarter mile ahead, Brett hit the gas as soon as the light turned green, trying to catch up. When she got to road the Jeep had turned on, she slowed down, looking for the it, but didn’t see anything.

Hoping it was just her imagination, she did a U turn and headed back to her parent’s farm.

________________

The rest of the day, as Casey made list after list of items he needed for the house in Chicago, Brett kept looking outside the windows at her parent’s house, seeing if a silver Jeep drove by. For a moment, she thought about texting Granger just to make sure he was in Chicago, but the last thing she wanted was for him to start calling her again.

Deciding on the next best thing, she dialed Kidd’s number, listening to it ring on the other end. When she got her voicemail, she knew they were probably on a call.

“Hey Kidd, call me when you get a second, okay?”

________________

Casey was driving back from another furniture store when he realized he was only a few miles from Firehouse 3. Changing directions, he headed that way. When he got near the building, he slowed his speed, taking a look at the impressive building. Boden was certainly right, as it looked like the building was brand new, and every vehicle he could see from the road looked like it was state of the art.

He had never really dealt much with anybody from 3, except at Officer meetings. The few he did know were good men, and as he increased his speed and distance from 3, he let his mind wonder to what his life would be like if he was Chief Casey.

_____________

At 51, Kidd had just read Brett’s text. Confused she typed out a quick reply in between bites of lunch.

Stella: I know Casey sent you the text about going house hunting with him. He showed me and Kelly what he typed after he sent it. Funny you didn’t get it. I thought it was kind of brave for him to send it to you.

____________

In Fowlerton, Brett was still sitting by the window at her old home, watching for any cars that drove by. She was beginning to think she was letting her imagination get the best of her, when she heard her phone chime. Turning it over, she read Kidd’s message.

_If Matt sent me a text,_ she wondered, _why didn’t I get it?_

None of that made sense. Even with everything going on between the two of them, she would have gladly helped Matt look for a new place to live. She loved looking at houses, and the one time she and Casey had done that before, she had been amazed to hear all the repairs and renovations he could handle himself. More than that, spending a day alone with Matt house hunting may have given them a chance for the two of them to talk. REALLY talk, like she knew they needed to.

Lost in her thoughts as she typed a reply to Kidd, she missed seeing the silver Jeep that drove down the road, slowing as it passed by the Brett Farm.

__________________

Kidd had just washed her plate off when she got Brett’s reply.

Sylvie: I honestly don’t know what happened. I just checked again, and I never got a text from Matt. I hate it too, because I would have loved going house hunting with him. Probably would have given us a chance to talk. Is it okay to tell him you mentioned this to me? I can text him now and tell him I would love to go with him the next time he goes.

Waiting for a reply, Sylvie turned to face the road again. Seeing it was deserted just like it had been for the last hour, she gave up her guard post and moved into the kitchen to sit down by her mother. She was about to say something to her Mom when Kidd responded.

Stella: Too late my friend. He already found something and made an offer that was accepted. He is going to move in as soon as he can close, and he is pushing to do that as quickly as possible. He thinks that Kelly and I need our own space now that we are engaged, and I can’t really argue with him about that.

___________________

Casey had just gotten back to the loft and was making himself a sandwich when his phone rang. Seeing it was a private number, he hit the decline button. After taking his sandwich and water into his bedroom, he got on his laptop and did as much research on Firehouse 3 that he could.

After about a half hour or so of research, Matt laid down on his bed. For some reason, he was really feeling alone. Normally when he felt like this, he would text Sylvie some stupid question in hopes she would respond so he could talk to her. Now, of course, that wasn’t an option. Instead, he called his sister Christie and invited her and Violet to his ceremony.

When he got off the phone with his sister, he saw that he had a voicemail based on the little icon at the top of his phone. Remembering the call he had declined, he pressed play on the voicemail, just wanting to confirm it was a telemarketer and not a potential customer.

As the voicemail started, Casey bolted upright, not even caring about the pain in his side.

_Holy shit,_ he thought.

__________________


	20. Scared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Matt reaches out to Sylvie, Brett has to decide if she trusts Casey enough to believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 20! For those of you who had questions about my cliffhanger from Chapter 19...hold on tight! Things are about to get crazy for our favorite two people from Chicago Fire.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

As Sylvie sat at the kitchen table across from her Mom, she tried to think of what to say when she texted Matt. She had typed one message, which she promptly deleted, and was working on the second when she saw she had an incoming call…from Matt.

Hitting the answer button as fast as her finger could press it, she felt her smile grow on her face as she started talking. “Hey Matt. I was just texting…”

“Sylvie,” Matt said hastily, the words flying out of his mouth. “You need to go into Boden’s office NOW and ask him to take 61 out of service. Tell him I will be there as fast as I can to explain.”

Feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, Sylvie could hear the worry in Casey’s voice. “I am not at 51 Matt. I came to Fowlerton to see my parents.”

“Shit!” Matt said, loudly enough for Carol to hear. Her mother was giving her a disapproving stare when Sylvie stood up and walked back into the den. 

“Matt, what is going on?”

Casey had just locked the loft door and was moving towards the elevator when he replied. “It’s Granger, Sylvie. He left me…well a…just a terrible voicemail about you. I am worried about you.”

_None of this makes sense,_ Sylvie thought. _What kind of voicemail would Greg leave that would have him worried about her?_

“What did Greg say Matt?” Sylvie asked, her brain trying to figure out the answer before he could respond.

“I can’t tell you all of it. Just trust me. Can you get back to Chicago?”

Knowing she trusted Matt explicitly, she wondered why he even asked. “Yes, I can leave within the hour. You really need to tell me what is going on Matt.”

She heard the sound of Casey running, and was about to remind him about his ribs when he spoke again. “Sylvie, I promise you I will tell you everything when get back. Come straight to the loft and text me updates on where you are as you come home. Most of all Sylvie, BE CAREFUL!” Casey said before he hung up.

________________

As soon as Casey hung up with Sylvie, he got in his truck, started it, calling Boden as he drove. He hated to talk on the phone while he drove, but he knew this was an emergency. It only took him two minutes of explaining to Boden what he needed for Boden to agree. With that settled, Casey drove to 51 as fast and as safely as he could.

_______________

In Fowlerton, Sylvie had run upstairs and was throwing everything she brought back in her suitcase.

“Sweetheart, tell me what is going on.” Carol implored her daughter.

As the last item went in, Brett zipped up her bag. “Mom, I honestly don’t know. But it’s something that has Matt so worried that he asked me to come back to Chicago and come directly to his place. I don’t know what’s going on, but I trust him enough to listen to him until he can tell me in person.”

“Are you sure this isn’t some ruse to get you in a room alone so he can try to win you back?” Carol asked, her worry growing as fast as her daughter’s.

“No Mom, I am sure. I can’t explain it, but I trust Matt Casey with my life, and I know he wouldn’t tell me to come back unless it was an emergency.”

Hugging her mother, Sylvie told her she loved her and to tell goodbye to her Dad. With that done, she ran downstairs, threw her suitcase in the trunk of her car, and headed back to Chicago, knowing any answers she needed to know were coming to come from Matt.

________________

Matt got to 51 less than fifteen minutes later. Moving quickly, he could already feel the pain in his side beginning to return with a vengeance, but this couldn’t wait. As he moved through the apparatus floor, he saw Severide sitting at the Squad table playing cards, getting ready to say something to welcome him back.

“Kelly, Boden’s office…NOW!”

Stunned, Severide tried to remember the last time Casey used his first name. Knowing that whatever Casey was here for was urgent, he dropped his cards and ran to catch up with Casey.

As both Officers moved quickly through the common room, Kidd knew something was up. She stood up to ask Kelly what was going on, but saw her fiancé just shrug. As the two men reached Boden’s door, the Chief waved them in, with Casey closing the door behind them.

Severide had just sat down when he spoke first. “What’s going on Casey?”

With a quick glance at Boden, Casey started. “I got a phone call today from a private number. I let it go to voicemail, and honestly forgot about it for about 30 minutes before I listened to it. At first, I couldn’t understand what I was listening to, but then I figured it out. It was a recording of Sylvie and Granger in…well…let’s just say a private moment. The recording was only about 20 seconds long, and I was about to stop it and throw my phone against the wall when Granger came on. All he said was that “If I can’t have Sylvie, then I am going to make sure you can’t have her either” and then the call ended. 

“On my way over here, I called Firehouse 40, and Granger never showed up for work today. Didn’t ask for furlough, just didn’t show up. And then I found out Sylvie is in Fowlerton, which means she is alone with none of us to protect her.”

Severide looked at Casey and then Boden. Seeing that both of them were past worried and had gone straight to scared, Kelly pulled out his phone. “I am going to call Jay Halstead. See if he has time to stop by.”

_________________

45 minutes later, Casey had played the voicemail for Detective Halstead, as both Boden and Severide told him they didn’t need to hear it. Jay had called Voight to let him know what was going on, as well as the information about Granger that Casey had already uncovered.

“What time should Brett be back to Chicago?” Halstead asked. 

Casey looked at his watch. “If she doesn’t hit any traffic or wrecks, she should be here in about 2 hours or so.” All of the sudden, the words Casey had just spoken hit him. “Halstead, you don’t think Granger would have followed Sylvie to Fowlerton, do you?”

Halstead pondered that question. “I doubt it, but we will check. I am having Upton run a trace on the private number that Granger called from. It was probably a burner, but if we can track down the number, we might be able to see what cell tower the call originated from.”

Taking a moment, Halsted took in Casey. The normally stoic Captain looked like a nervous wreck. Knowing how much all of 51 had been there for Intelligence, he decided now might be a time to be safe rather than sorry. Texting Upton, he asked her to have the Indiana State Highway Patrol be on the lookout for both Brett and Granger’s car.

____________________


	21. Assistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Brett drives back to Chicago, Jay Halstead helps Casey to understand what their next steps are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 21! This little fan fic just crossed over 7600 hits, which is incredible. I really appreciate each of you not only reading, but sending kudos and comments. Based on some of your comments, I REALLY threw you all a curveball, which was what I was going for. With that said, hold onto your seats as we near the conclusion of this story.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Halstead took a seat in one of Boden’s office chairs, encouraging Casey to sit down. He knew what he was about to say was not what Casey wanted to hear, but he needed to hear it anyway.

“Listen Casey.” Jay started. “You need to know that the threat that Granger left for you on the voicemail isn’t illegal. Does it sound bad? Definitely, but there’s nothing we can really do on that front. As for the recording, we can definitely charge him with that, and Brett may even be able to get a restraining order against him. I am sure Boden can file a Conduct Unbecoming Charge against him with the CFD. I know you don’t want to hear any of that, but besides those things, and all of us watching out for Brett, there really isn’t a lot we can do unless Granger actually TRIES to harm Brett.”

Leaning back in his chair, Matt ran his hand over his mouth and down to his chin. No, that DEFINITELY was not what Casey wanted to hear, but he appreciated Halstead shooting him straight. As for now, the most important thing was getting Sylvie back to Chicago safely, so that she could press charges against the asshole that he felt partially responsible in pushing her towards.

__________________

Sylvie was making good time as she drove back to Chicago. There wasn’t much traffic on the interstate, and she was hoping to get back to Chicago before rush hour traffic hit. Looking down at her gas gauge, she knew she was going to have to stop, and sooner rather than later. As she got in the right hand lane and started looking for signs for a gas station, she decided to text Matt where she was.

Using her voice to text, she said how far she was along, and that she was getting ready to stop for gas. Checking to make sure it translated correctly, she hit send. Seeing a sign for a Pilot Truck stop ahead, Sylvie slowed her speed. Right as she got off the interstate, a silver jeep flew by her in the lane she had just gotten out of, probably going over a 100 mph. She strained to see if she could see the license plate, hoping it wasn’t Granger’s, but the vehicle was too far ahead of her before she looked to see. For a moment, she wondered something.

_If I hadn’t gotten off the interstate, would that Jeep have rear ended me_?

____________________

At Intelligence, Burgess and Ruzek were pitching Voight their plan to call Granger’s cell phone.

“Look Boss,” Ruzek said. “If he answers, maybe we can keep him on long enough to triangulate his position. Even if he doesn’t, maybe we scare him enough that he thinks twice about actually following through with any bad idea he has.”

Leaning back against a desk, Voight considered the merits of the plan. “Burgess, what do you think?”

“I agree with Adam.” Kim said quickly. “At the least, let’s put the fear of God into him.”

Nodding, Voight agreed with their plan. “Okay, let’s do it. But I want to be the one that talks to him.”

As Burgess readied the equipment, Voight wondered what would make a decorated officer like Granger do something like this. Figuring that love could make you do stupid things, he made the call.

As Voight listened to the ringing on the other line, he instantly knew Granger wasn’t going to answer. He though about leaving a message, but instead hung up.

“Okay, you two go sit on Brett’s apartment in case this Granger shows, and have a couple of uniforms sit on his place.” Voight ordered, before turning to walk back to his office.

_________________

Halstead was leaving 51 at the same time Matt was. Severide had just told Kidd that Granger had made what seemed like a threat to Casey and Brett, so Matt was just being safe. Boden, on the other hand, had already talked to the Chief of Firehouse 40, as well as CFD Human Resources and Grissom. 

The Chief knew all of them wanted this handled discreetly, but he wasn’t sure if that was possible now.

_______________

Casey had been home for an hour, pacing the living area of the loft, waiting on another update from Brett. He cursed himself for ever saying he didn’t know when Sylvie asked about Gabby. If he had of been honest with her and told her he only wanted her, she would be with him right now, and Granger would just be some other firefighter that would be jealous because he would be with Sylvie, who was the most amazing woman he had ever met.

Secretly, he was also fuming about the recording. He wasn’t upset at Sylvie, but instead at Granger. The way they sounded on the recording was just…terrible. He knew he had to tell Sylvie about that part of the voicemail, but he hoped she would trust him and not listen to it. He never wanted to think of her like that ever again. As just some piece of trash who Granger was just using to get off.

Part of him thanked God Granger hadn’t played the recording for him in person, because Matt was pretty sure that Halstead would have been arresting him for killing Granger. But right now, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was Sylvie getting back to Chicago as quickly and safely as possible.

As he moved around, he also kicked himself for not filling his pain med prescription, because he sure could have used it. In his attempt to get to 51 and back as fast as possible, the pain in his ribs had gone from a 3 to an 8 in a hurry. Even now, he was struggling to take a deep breath due to how bad his ribs were hurting, but he knew he could tough it out until hew knew Sylvie was safe.

_____________

Sylvie had just entered Illinois and was within 45 minutes to an hour of getting to Casey’s. She knew they still needed to talk, but that was going to take a backseat to whatever terrible thing Greg had left on Matt’s voicemail. As she thought back, none of this made sense. Greg had been nothing but sweet and patient with her, up until they slept together. Yes, he had made that comment about Manning being hot, which in retrospect should have been a red flag, but other than that, it all unraveled after the sex, and then how he acted when he came over after the next shift. 

Just then, a thought hit her. He had offered to drive down to Fowlerton with her to see her parents. Therefore, he DEFINITELY remembered where she was from. Even though he didn’t know her parent’s address, he could have asked anyone in her small hometown and they would have gladly given him directions.

For the first time since Matt’s call, she began to get scared. Scared that the Jeep she had seen twice WAS Granger’s. More importantly, she was beginning to get scared as to what Granger would do if they were alone together again.

_________________


	22. Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Casey waits for Sylvie to get back to him safely, he wonders how he will tell her what is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 22! The rating on this story is getting bumped to mature for this chapter and a follow up one. Hope this "twist" got all of you off guard...I like to try to keep all of you on your toes during my stories.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Knowing that Sylvie should be getting to the loft any time now, Casey limped to the elevator, taking it to the ground floor. As soon as the doors opened, he looked up and saw Brett standing in front of him. Overcome with relief knowing she was safe, Matt opened his arms, finding Brett willingly moving closer into them, wrapping her arms around him so tight he thought he might cry out in agony. But at that moment, he didn’t even care.

“I am so happy you are okay.” Casey said weakly, letting his hand run up and down her back gently.

Brett looked up at Casey and saw his face contorted in pain. She rapidly backed away from him. “I am sorry Matt. I didn’t even remember your injury.”

Not caring, Matt pulled her back to him, wrapping his arms around her again. “Don’t worry about it. The most important thing is that you are safe. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”

As Matt reached out to the elevator controls, Brett took a moment to think about how crazy it was she was here…with Matt. After everything that had happened the last few months, she had hoped, but never expected to be here beside him again.

As soon as they got up to the loft, Casey let Sylvie move farther in as he locked the door. Turning to see her already sitting at the kitchen table, he knew she was probably wanting to know what was going on. Easing himself in the seat across from her, he took a shallow breath before he started.

“Sylvie, I am so sorry about interrupting your time with you family, but I was really worried for you. I got a call earlier today that said “Private” on it, so I let it go to voicemail. I had almost forgot about it when I saw the icon on my phone reminding me. Thinking it might be a customer, I played it.”

Sylvie was leaning forward, both wanting to know what Greg said but also afraid to hear it. Figuring she needed to know, she looked at Casey with as much strength as she could. “Tell me what he said Matt.”

Casey started fidgeting with his hands, searching for the best way to tell her. Knowing she had just driven over 3 hours to get back home, he just told her the brutal truth. “When I played the message, I didn’t know what it was for a second. Then I heard your voice. It was when you two…well, when you were…having sex.”

Instantly embarrassed, Brett knew there had to be more, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. All the sudden, she realized there had to be something more serious for Matt to WORRY about her. Looking down at the table, she told Casey what she knew she needed. “Tell me everything Matt. Don’t leave anything out.”

Casey let his chin fall to his chest. That was the last thing he wanted to tell her. Deciding he still didn’t, he pulled out his phone. Pulling up his voicemail app, he stood to leave the room. “Just hit play Sylvie. I will give you some privacy.”

Surprising herself, Brett reached for Casey’s hand. Somehow finding the strength to look up at him, she spoke softly. “Please stay Matt.”

Knowing he would do anything Sylvie asked him to, he sat back down and hit the play button.

Sylvie could hear rustling, and then heard her own voice come from Matt’s phone as she listened to the recording.

_God Greg, not so rough._

Bringing her free hand to her mouth, Sylvie thought she might get sick. She remembered everything about that night with Granger, even though she didn’t want to. She had said that right when Greg had picked her up by her hips and flipped her onto her stomach without warning. She could even hear her exasperation with him come through over the recording. Closing her eyes, she felt her cheeks redden at the embarrassment that Matt had heard this.

_Rough? I am just getting started. I am going to fuck you SO good Sylvie._

Brett laid her forehead against the table. After Greg said those words, you could hear the sound of his body meeting hers as he thrusted inside of her, as well as her saying “Slow down…not so hard.” softly in the background. At that point, she wasn’t sure she could listen to the rest of it, as she knew that their sex had gone on for a while longer. Surprisingly, the recording stopped and she heard Greg’s voice as he spoke more clearly.

“If I can’t have Sylvie, then I am going to make sure you can’t have her either”

At Granger’s words, Brett let go of Matt’s hand, standing up so fast that she knocked the chair she was sitting in onto the ground. Without saying anything, she moved toward one of the bedroom doors and opened the closest one, moving through it to the bathroom. When she was inside, she closed the door behind her, letting herself slide down the door with her back until she got to the floor. When she felt the cold of the tile floor against her bottom, she let her tears and sobs overtake her.

_______________

Understanding Sylvie needed some time to digest all this, Casey called Halstead to let him know that Sylvie was back in Chicago and safe. Granger didn’t know where he lived, so Sylvie could stay at the loft until Chicago PD found the Lieutinant.

After being promised an update as soon as they had one, Casey ended the call. Knowing that Sylvie would probably be hungry at some point, he moved into the kitchen and started to make her some soup and a sandwich.

________________

Ruzek and Burgess were sitting in his car, trying to keep themselves occupied as they waited to see if Granger showed up either there at Brett’s or somewhere else. As Adam talked about the pros and cons of them dating again, he was cutoff when Burgess spoke up.

“Hey, silver Jeep approaching.”

Scooting down in his seat, Ruzek thought about just how good it was going to be charge the son of a bitch who did something like this to someone as sweet as Brett.

______________


	23. Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Brett deals with her emotions over what was on the voicemail, Casey wonders what his...and their...next steps are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 23! Again, thanks to all of you who are reading along with my little fan fic. Hang on tight, because we only have 6 chapters left after this one.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Roughly 20 minutes later, Brett came back out to the kitchen. Matt could tell she had been crying, as her cheeks were still red and her neck was splotchy. She had scrubbed off all her makeup while she was gone, and Matt thought she looked even more beautiful now than before.

As she sat back down at the table, she spoke to Casey, taking the opportunity to talk to his back while he was still at the stove working. “I’m sorry Matt. I am sorry you had to hear that, and I am sorry you got dragged into my mess again. I…”

Spinning around, Matt looked at Sylvie intently. “Don’t EVER apologize to me Sylvie. I am always going to have your back, good and bad.”

Brett nodded, wondering what she did to deserve a friend like Matt. She knew she still needed to tell him how she felt, but that conversation would have to wait until another time. That was, if Casey would even be interested in her after hearing everything he had. It was one thing to KNOW she had sex with Granger, but it was an entirely different thing to LISTEN to it.

After Matt finished the food, he sat a bowl of soup and half a sandwich in front of Brett. “Here, you need to eat.” He encouraged gently.

As Brett ate, Casey ordered his pain prescription online, asking that it be delivered. He didn’t plan to leave Sylvie alone until he knew she was safe.

Seeing her actually eating, Matt took that opportunity to tell her what had happened since they had talked. “So, I just want you to know that I got intelligence involved.”

Sylvie was about to protest when Casey held up his hand. “Only Jay listened to the tape. He can’t do anything about the threat, but he thinks you have grounds for getting a restraining order against Granger. Also, as soon as they find him, they are going to arrest him as long as you are willing to press charges against him.”

Looking up, Sylvie was confused. “Press charges? For what?”

“Well,” Casey started. “There is a law on the books in Illinois that covers revenge porn. Normally, it’s where someone posts a video online, but Halstead said that since he transmitted it to me electronically, that would fall under the definition. It won’t send him to jail, but he will have a record, and because it happened to you, a PIC, he will more than likely get kicked out of the CFD.”

Casey let those words sink in while he watched her. He knew he would do anything to protect her, and he planned on keeping her safe until Halstead found Granger. After that, he knew the time had come for him to lay his cards on the table and tell her everything. He had decided when she was driving back that if she didn’t feel the same, then he would take the job at Firehouse 3. But if she was willing to give him another chance, he wanted nothing more than to stay at 51 with her.

__________________

Brett heard the knocking at the door half an hour later, feeling her stomach drop at the sound.

“Shit, I am sorry Sylvie. That’s just my pain meds being delivered.”

Letting herself relax again, she was calm until Matt came back in with his medicine.

“Matt, why are you getting pain pills delivered? You HATE taking any type of medicine?”

Sheepishly, Matt looked anywhere but back at her. “I, uh, I was in such a hurry to get to 51 to meet with Halstead, and then back home, that I jostled my ribs enough that they the pain started back up again pretty bad.”

Standing up, Brett moved to him, lifting up his shirt. After removing his ACE bandage, she examined his ribs. Casey had to control his breathing at the feeling of Brett’s bare hand moving across his skin.

After a brief examination, she looked up at him. “Your ribs look okay. You take your pain meds and I will re-wrap your bandage.”

With that done, Casey and Brett moved to the couch, both sitting beside each other. Matt handed her the remote, knowing the pain meds would knock him out pretty soon. “Here, watch whatever you want to.”

Brett was about to turn the TV to HGTV, but remembered Granger wanting to watch it with her. Instead, she turned it to ESPN. Grabbing a throw off the back of the couch, Sylvie covered both of their legs.

“Thanks for today Matt. I really appreciate you looking out for me.”

Casey could already feel his exhaustion, or pain meds, or some combination of the two, setting in. “Always Sylvie.” He said, before closing his eyes.

Seeing Matt close his eyes, Sylvie let herself feel safe in this space, with Matt, in his loft, feeling his body next to hers. Letting her tiredness take over, she followed him into sleep within minutes.

At 7:30am, Stella and Kelly unlocked the door to the loft quietly. They hadn’t heard from either Casey or Brett, even though they, and Halstead, had both called and texted them. Figuring they were probably both asleep, they opened the door as silently as they could. What they saw made both of them smile. There, on the couch, were their two friends, asleep. They were both sitting up, but at some point, Brett’s head fell onto Casey’s shoulder, and his head was now resting against the top of hers.

Stella pulled out her phone and took a picture of how cute their friends looked. Regardless of what either one of them said, Kidd knew that Casey and Brett were made for each other.

_________________

As Kidd and Severide retreated to their bedroom, Matt started to wake up at the sound of their door closing. Trying to orient himself, he looked down to see Sylvie’s head resting on his shoulder. Deciding there was nowhere in the world he wanted to be more, he sat there, as still as he could, until Sylvie started stirring a few minutes later.

When Sylvie realized where she was and who she was resting against, she turned her head to look at Casey.

“Morning.” She said, feeling her cheeks blush at being this close to him.

Casey couldn’t contain the smile on his face. “Good morning to you too.” As Sylvie moved away from him and stretched her arms above her head, Casey used that opportunity to pull out his phone. When the got to the 3rd text from Halstead, he turned his phone so Brett could read it.

“They arrested Granger?” She said softly.

“Yes.” Casey replied. “But they still need you to press charges against him to make it stick.”

Brett could feel the indecision start to creep into her mind, until she remembered how she had felt after they had sex. _I felt used._ Knowing that Greg MADE her feel that way, she knew she had to make him pay for what he had done with the recording, as well as whatever else he had planned to do. “Okay, I definitely will.”

As she pushed her hair behind her ears, she looked up at Casey. “Would you mind coming with me to the police station?”

Casey let his hand drift to her knee, squeezing it once. “Of course Sylvie. Why don’t I take you down there as soon as we get ready. You can file the charges and the restraining order and then I will take you to breakfast. There are some things I want to talk to you about.”

________________


	24. Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Casey takes Brett to the police station, Sylvie finds out more information about Granger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 24! As always, thanks for all your comments, kudos, and most importantly, continuing to read my story. I love seeing how some of you respond to each chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Casey let Brett use his bathroom first, as he went down to her car to get her suitcase for her. After he came back into the loft, he laid the bag beside his closed bathroom door, knocking lightly to let her know it was there.

Since he and Sylvie were going to breakfast later, he moved around the loft, pacing, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Sylvie. He had come up with a few things, quickly deciding they weren’t good enough, and came up with more. He was still working on what to say when Sylvie came out of his bedroom freshly showered and dressed with her hair still wet.

“Okay, bathroom is all yours. If it’s okay, I will just dry my hair in your room while you get ready.”

“Sure.” Matt replied, before moving into his room and grabbing clean underwear and clothes so he could get dressed in the bathroom. “I won’t take long, and when I am ready, we will head downtown.”

“Okay.” Sylvie said softly, her nerves beginning to catch up with her.

Seeing this, Casey walked over and put his hands on both of her shoulders. “You can do this Sylvie. You are the strongest, bravest woman I know. And if you need backup, I am going to be right beside you the whole way.”

Brett smiled at Casey’s words before seeing him turn and head into his bathroom.

_What would I ever do without Matt Casey,_ she thought?

___________________

Matt tried his best to get ready quickly, still working around his side that was hurting. At this point he knew, that after the ceremony tomorrow, he would have to tell Nat the truth that he wasn’t ready for anything other than desk duty.

As he opened the door and stepped in his bedroom, he saw Sylvie laying her hair dryer on his bed. Stunned, he stood there, taking in the beautiful woman across his bed from him.

“What?” Sylvie asked, her self-doubt growing by the second.

Casey opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Trying again, he heard the words he wanted to say. “You look so beautiful for having had such a terrible day yesterday.”

Red rushing to her cheeks, Sylvie tried to hide the smile that was growing on her face. “Come on, let’s go get this over with.”

_And then, I need to talk to you too,_ she decided.

_________________

The drive to the police station was quiet, with only the sound of the radio keeping them company. When Casey pulled into a parking spot at the precinct, he turned to look at Brett.

“You ready?”

Nodding once, Sylvie went to open her door.

“Hold on.” Casey said, before getting out and coming around and opening her door for her. As they walked up the steps to the station, Brett felt the desire to reach out and take Matt’s hand, but resisted it, instead just smiling at him when he opened the door for her.

When she got to the front desk, Trudy was there. The older woman left her post from behind the desk, walking around to give Brett a hug.

“How you hanging in there, kid?” Trudy asked.

“I am okay.” Brett replied, looking back at Casey. “Just ready to get this over with.”

Trudy escorted Brett to a conference room across from her desk, as Matt stayed back when Sylvie went in and sat down. “I am right outside if you need me, okay?”

Nodding, Brett took her seat.

“Upton will be done in a minute, okay?” Trudy said gently, before closing the door. After that she turned to look at Casey. “Something you need to tell me Captain?” The older woman asked.

Matt couldn’t hide his smile. “No, just here for some moral support, that’s all.”

“Right,” Trudy said as she walked back to her post. “Right.”

_______________

Upton was down within a couple of minutes and glanced at Casey before she entered the conference room. “I’ve got her Casey.”

Matt nodded and took a seat on a bench in front of the room.

As soon as Upton entered the room, she smiled softly at Brett. “I know this is the last thing you want to do, but I promise I will make it quick, okay Sylvie.”

“Okay.” Brett said, trying to summon whatever strength she had left over the last few days.

“First, Granger is in custody. I need you to sign this form to press charges against him for violations of the Revenge Porn statute.” Upton slid a piece of paper and a pen across the table to Brett, who started to read the form, which seemed like Greek to her.

“I also need to ask you some questions Brett. Questions you aren’t going to like. Okay?”

Nodding, Brett took a deep breath for what was to come.

“Did you give Granger permission to record your sexual encounter?”

“God no.” Sylvie replied quickly. “I didn’t even know he had until Matt played me the tape.”

“Okay.” Upton said evenly as she took notes. “Where did this encounter happen?”

“At my place.” Sylvie said as she signed the first form.

“Gotcha. Had you been drinking?” Upton asked, hating she even had to but knowing it would come up.

Sylvie looked mortified. _Is Haley thinking I allowed this?_ “Yes, I had one glass of Rose’ at Molly’s before we went back to my place”

Making more notes, Upton didn’t say anything until the next question. “Okay Sylvie, did you happen to see Granger with a recording device? Did he use his phone right before, or did he leave for a minute and come back? I am just trying to figure out how he recorded you at your own place?”

Stumped, Sylvie contemplated that question for a few moments before something clicked. “He did get off the bed to get a condom that he said was in his phone case. I remember thinking it took him longer to get it out than it should have, but I just thought that maybe he was just as nervous as I was .”

Smiling, Upton knew that last piece of information would help. “Okay, you are done. If you want to file a restraining order, which I strongly suggest, I need you to sign this additional form. Voight has already gotten it cleared through a judge so you won’t have to appear in court. I will just let you know if the Judge approves it.”

Upton stood up and was about to escort Brett out when the paramedic asked her a question. “What is going to happen to Granger now?”

Chewing on her lip, Upton debated telling Brett everything. But in the end, she knew if she was in Brett’s shoes, she would want to know. Taking her seat again, her expression turned serious. “Well, we will charge him with Revenge Porn and you should be able to get a Restraining Order against him approved.”

Taking a breath, Haley continued. “Also, when we arrested him, he had an unlicensed pistol in his car, so he got charged with that.”

Brett felt all the color drain from her face upon hearing that. “Was he…did he follow me to Fowlerton?” Sylvie asked, now almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Yes.” Upton replied evenly. “We found alcohol in his car, so as soon as we get his blood alcohol levels back, we may charge him with more. The good news is you are safe, and you don’t have to worry about Greg Granger bothering you for a long time.”

With that, Upton stood up and walked out the room, leaving Sylvie sitting there alone, lost in her thoughts, wondering just one thing.

_Was Greg going to try to kill me yesterday?_

_____________________


	25. Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Upton gets done meeting with Brett, Matt and Sylvie finally get a chance to clear the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 25! I can't believe this fic has crossed 9,000 hits, and I am so amazed by all of your support. As always, I love to read each of your comments to see what you thought (good or bad), and where you think things are going.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

After Upton left the conference room, Casey was surprised to not see Brett following her. Standing up, he glanced inside the room, seeing Sylvie still sitting there.

“Hey, you okay?” Casey asked with concern.

Brett forced herself to nod. Moving slowly, she stood up and threw her arms around Casey’s waist with such force he about fell backwards.

“Hey Sylvie. You are okay…I’ve got you. Tell me what’s going on?”

Standing there, Sylvie hugged Matt so hard he felt his ribs start to ache again, but at that point he didn’t care. He knew Brett needed him and he was going to be there for her. After a few more moments Sylvie looked up at Matt, forcing a smile.

“It’s nothing,” she lied. “I am just glad all of this is over.”

“Me too.” Matt replied, pushing some strands out of hair out of her face. “Come on, I think I owe you some breakfast.”

The entire drive to the restaurant, Casey never once asked Brett what happened. She knew the curiosity must have been driving him crazy, but he gave her space to come to grips with things herself. As they got closer to the restaurant, she knew one thing for certain.

_If I could have died yesterday, I am not letting today end without telling Matt how I feel about him._

________________

As soon as Matt parked his truck, he hopped out and came around to Brett’s side, opening the door for him. “Thanks” She said softly, not having to force the smile that came naturally to her.

Once inside the building and seated, Casey ordered french toast while Brett got her traditional pancakes with sprinkles. As they waited on their order, Matt looked over at Sylvie, her smile beginning to get back to its normal, radiating self. Knowing it was now or never, he took a deep breath before starting.

“Sylvie, I appreciate you coming to breakfast with me. There are some things I wanted to say to you, and I figured it would be easier to do it here since there are no bells that can go off.”

Brett nodded before taking a sip of her coffee, finding her nervousness begin to creep back in. “Okay.”

“First, I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you are safe. I was really worried about you yesterday, but knowing that everything is going to be okay now takes a huge weight off my shoulders, as I am sure it does yours.”

“Definitely.” Sylvie replied, debating whether she should tell Matt the whole store about Granger or not.

“It’s just…you are one of my best friends Sylvie. It about killed me when I texted you about helping me to look for a place to live and you didn’t even respond. Part of that, I know, is because of how bad I hurt you the night we kissed. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about that, because the truth is, I don’t want Gabby. I haven’t wanted her for a long time. I also don’t want Sydney, and Natalie and I are just good friends. The only woman I want is you Sylvie.”

For a moment, Sylvie thought her heart skipped a beat at Casey saying he only wanted her. She was about to respond to Casey when he continued.

“And, believe me Sylvie, I know this is terrible timing for this. I mean, you were just with Granger, and then everything from yesterday happened, but I need to tell you how I feel now. I need you to know once and for all exactly how I feel about you.”

Sylvie was chewing on her lip so hard she thought she might draw blood, when Casey said the only thing she ever wanted to hear from him.

“The truth of the matter is Sylvie, I am in love with you.”

Brett felt all the color rush to her cheeks and she knew her eyes must have been as big as saucers.

“I am not in love with you because I couldn’t have you Sylvie, I am in love with you because it about killed me to be apart from you. All I wanted that night was to run back to your apartment and tell you I was an idiot, but I was too chicken shit to do it. And when you said you needed space, I should have told you no, but I didn’t. Believe me, I have kicked myself every day for that. But at the end of the day, I just thought, and I still do, that if I love you, I will want you to be happy, whether it is with me of not.”

Casey took a breath, seeing nothing but surprise on Sylvie’s face.

_Fuck,_ he thought. _It was either too soon to tell her this, or she doesn’t feel the same way._

As Casey glanced down at the table, Brett forced herself to say something. “Matt, I never got your text about going house shopping with you, or I would have said yes.”

Casey looked up, finding Sylvie smiling back at him. _Out of all the things I just said to her, THAT is what she got out of it?_

About to backtrack, Matt opened his mouth to apologize to her, but got cut off when she spoke again.

“And the reason I would have said yes to house shopping, and anything else you asked me for, is because I am in love with you too.”

_________________

Matt instantly felt like his heart doubled in size knowing Sylvie felt the same way about him. He was about to say something when Brett continued.

“Not being friends with you was torture after kissing you. I am not going to lie and say you didn’t hurt me that night, but for some reason, even when I was with Granger, I knew I was still in love with you.”

Smiling so big he thought his cheeks would start hurting, Matt had two thoughts. “Well, if that is the case, can I just tell you how good it feels to TELL you that I am in love with you?”

“Yes, it does feel good.” Brett admitted, reaching across the table to take Matt’s hand in hers.

“So, since we both love each other,” Matt said with a wink, “then I have two suggestions.”

Narrowing her gaze, Brett smiled through her question. “And what would those two things be?”

Casey rubbed his chin with his free hand. “Well, first, I would like to take you by the house I am buying. And then, whenever you are ready, I want to take you out on a date.”

______________________


	26. Commendations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his talk with Brett, Casey gets ready for his commendation ceremony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 26! This little fan fic is near 9500 hits, which just blows me away. After this chapter we only have THREE more to go!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

After they finished breakfast, Casey drove Brett to the house he was buying. One he was actually going to close on in about 2 more weeks. On the way, Sylvie shared with Matt the rest of what Upton had told her, and it hit them both just how close they came to losing the other.

After showing Brett the outside of the house, and promising a tour of the inside when he actually owned it, he took her back to the loft to pick up her things. Knowing she was still tired from the events of yesterday and that morning, and that she had shift the next day, Casey carried her suitcase to her car.

Casey was unsure how Brett was feeling about intimacy after the whole Granger fiasco, so he settled for kissing her forehead.

“I will see you tomorrow at my commendation ceremony.” Casey said while holding her hands. “And if you feel up to it, I would like to take you to dinner two nights from now.”

Sylvie couldn’t stop smiling if she tried. She didn’t want to go back to her place, but the emotional turmoil she had gone through was catching up with her. “Sounds great Matt. I can’t wait.”

After Brett got in her car and started it, Casey tapped on her window, asking for her to roll it down. “If you need anything tonight…anything at all, you call me okay.”

Sylvie knew what Matt was saying. _If you get scared or freaked out or sad, call me._ “Will do. Thanks. I will see you tomorrow.”

As Sylvie drove off, Matt thought for once they were finally on the same page.

_______________

The next morning, all of 51 showed up in their dress uniforms. A small platform had been set up on the apparatus floor, while all the vehicles were parked outside. As Matt walked in, he was surprised to see so many non-51 people in attendance. As he moved into the common room, he needed the respite of his office to clear his head before all the hoopla started. When he opened the door to his quarters, he was surprised to find Sylvie sitting in his cot.

“Syl…What are you doing here?”

Laughing, Sylvie looked up at him lovingly. “I kind of had a feeling you would come back here, so I figured I would wait on you. If I may, you look REALLY nice in your dress uniform.”

“So do you.” Matt replied honestly. “Hey, I meant to…” Casey started, before Boden tapped on Casey’s shoulder. 

“You ready Casey?” Boden asked.

“As ready as I ever will.” Matt replied. Reaching for Brett’s hand, the three of them walked out towards the event.

________________

As soon as they got to the apparatus floor, Brett let go of Matt’s hand, wished him luck, and then found a seat beside Kidd and Severide.

“Hey guys, big day, huh?” Sylvie said as she sat down.

Kidd glanced at Severide, who looked like he was NOT happy for some reason, before turning back to Brett. “Yep. How are you doing?”

“Good.” Brett replied, before leaning closer to Kidd to whisper in her ear. “I have a LOT to tell you.”

Not able to control herself, Kidd was about to ask what when Boden took the stage.

“Welcome everyone to Firehouse 51. We are here today to honor the heroism and bravery of one of our own. To do the honors, I will turn the stage over to Commissioner Grissom.”

Standing up from a chair beside the platform, Grissom walked up a few steps and onto the stage. “Thank you, Chief Boden. Everyone, for the first time in my career, as well as Chief Boden’s, we will be awarding the Medal of Valor to a firefighter who is still with us. The Medal of Valor is the highest award a firefighter can receive in the State of Illinois, and we are pleased to be here today to award it to Captain Matthew Casey.”

Sylvie glanced over at Matt, finding him smiling at her. With a quick wink, she turned back to Grissom, as he listed everything Casey had done during the high rise fire to protect everyone but himself. When that was over, he asked Casey to join him on the stage.

“Captain Casey, it is my pleasure, on behalf of the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the Chicago Fire Department, to award you with the Medal of Valor.”

Casey was handed a stained wooden box with the medal enclosed in it, sitting on what looked like blue velour padding. As soon as he shook Grissom’s hand, everyone stood up to applaud Matt.

______________

After the clapping and cheering died down, Grissom stepped down to give Casey a chance to speak.

“As all of you know,” Casey started, “I am not a great public speaker, so please bear with me. I would like to thank Commissioner Grissom, Chief Boden, and anyone else who was involved in bestowing this great honor on me. I promise you it is not one I take lightly.”

Taking a moment, Casey’s gaze found every member of 51 in the crowd, lingering on Brett’s. “But I would be the first to tell you that this honor should go to ALL of 51 and not just me. I have the privilege to lead the greatest firefighters, and work aside the best paramedics I have ever known, and seeing what all of you do on a daily basis shows that what I did at the high rise fire was not anything that each and every one of you wouldn’t have done if you were in my shoes.”

Turning to look at Boden, Casey became noticeably emotional. “Chief Boden, if you could come up here for a second.”

Surprised, Boden looked in the crowd to see Donna, who was motioning for him to move. As Boden stepped onto the stage, Casey turned to face him.

“Chief, anyone who knows me understands that my life when I was younger was not the easiest. But the day I got assigned here to Firehouse 51 was, without me realizing it, one of the best days of my life. Not only did I get to work for the best Chief in Chicago, I also got the closest thing to a father I have had since I was young.” Casey said through trembling lips. “I, and everyone who has ever worked under your command is not only a better firefighter, but also a better person, because of the example you set for each of us every day. And because of that, I can’t think of a better thing to do with this Medal than to give it to one person who has showed me on a daily basis what it means to truly be brave.”

Shocked, Boden couldn’t stop the tears that ran down his face, matching the ones in Casey’s eyes. Seeing the Chief wanting to NOT accept the Medal, Casey handed it to him and then tuned and walked off the stage. As Boden turned to the crowd, he found most had tears matching his own.

That was, until they all stood back up and clapped and cheered for the man who was the heart and soul of 51.

____________________


	27. Astonished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Boden accepts congratulations, Sylvie and Matt face multiply surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 27! We have two more chapters after this one, so 28 tomorrow morning and 29 tomorrow night. I hope you all are still enjoying reading this little fan fic of mine. I already have an idea for a new one, so will start work on that one tonight.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

After the applause died down, Boden was overcome with too many emotions to speak, so he let Grissom stand up to dismiss everyone. As some of the attendees went back to the refreshment table that had been set up behind the chairs, others moved towards the front to congratulate not only Casey, but also Boden.

Brett had just stood up, and was dabbing her eyes with tissue, as she made her way out of the aisle she was sitting in when she felt someone touch her shoulder.

“Hey Brett, how are you doing?” Dr. Natalie Manning asked while smiling at the PIC.

“I am good, thanks.” Brett replied, wondering what Natalie was doing here.

As if reading her mind, Manning kept talking. “Matt asked me to come today to see his award presentation.”

Feeling her stomach clinch at Manning calling him “Matt”, she was about to reply when Dr. Crockett walked up and stood beside Manning, his arm wrapping around Natalie’s waist.

“I just wanted to tell you,” Manning continued, lowering her voice so that she wouldn’t be overheard, “that Matt is still crazy about you. I know it’s not my place to tell you this, but I just wanted you to know. I can only hope it will make a difference.”

Her smile returning, Brett reached out and hugged Manning. “It does, thanks. As a matter of fact, as of yesterday, we are officially together.”

After ending the hug, Sylvie laughed at seeing how happy Manning was. “Brett, that’s great. Maybe we can all double date sometime.”

“I would love that.” Brett replied happily.

___________________

At the bottom of the stage, Boden was receiving the biggest hug from his crying wife, who was also trying to wipe the tears off his face. Behind Donna, there was a line of people waiting to congratulate the Chief on his surprise gift.

Casey had moved back in the common room, hoping no one had seen his escape. He wanted this moment to be all about Boden instead of him. He should have known he wouldn’t have been able to escape from two woman though.

“Matthew Casey.” Cindy said loudly as she and Trudy walked into the common room.

Shaking his head slowly, Casey wasn’t sure he could handle what Trudy and Cindy were going to say.

As soon as Cindy got close to him, she held out her arms, pulling Casey into a tight hug. “Matthew, you are a good and decent man. Don’t you every forget that, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.” Casey replied smiling.

“Yes you are Matt.” Trudy said next while also hugging him. “Probably a stupid one too, but a good one nonetheless. Now, you need to wait here for another minute.”

Casey wasn’t about to argue with Trudy, especially when she was armed, but he wondered why she wanted him to wait. Before he could even think of a reason why, he heard Donna’s voice.

“Matthew, you stand right there.”

Matt let his head fall, not sure he was ready to talk to Donna yet. Knowing he had no choice, he embraced her as she reached for him.

“Matt, what you just…” Donna managed to say through her emotions. “The things you said about Wallace…I just…”

“I meant every word.” Casey replied softly.

“I know.” Donna said, letting her hand rest on Casey’s cheek. “That’s why it means so much to him…to both of us.”

Knowing he was about to get emotional again, Casey just nodded.

“Now,” Trudy said, speaking for the three women. “Let’s take you back outside so everyone can congratulate YOU.”

_______________________

Over the next 15 minutes, Casey got congratulated by everyone who was there. Everyone at 51, with the exception of Severide and Sylvie, came up to not only congratulate him, but to thank him for his kind words. Also, all the significant others like Chloe came by to tell him how proud they were of him.

After Chloe left, Casey could see Severide in the back, clearly pissed off at something. He was about to head his way when Boden walked over to him, holding out his hand.

As Casey shook Boden’s hand, the Chief said what he could get out before his emotions took over again. “Casey, what you did was….it was just…the best thing ever. Thank you.”

Waving his boss off, Casey responded. “That medal will look a lot better in your office than in mine.”

“No.” Bodden said through clinched lips. “I am not thanking you for the medal. I am thanking you for what you said.”

Not knowing what to say, Casey was trying to find the words when he felt someone slide up beside him. Seeing it was Sylvie, he turned towards her, only to find her stand on her tip toes and gently kiss his lips.

Surprised, Casey turned to look at Boden. “I guess you two have some paperwork to complete.” Boden said with a smile.

Laughing Casey bent down and softly kissed Sylvie again, looking directly in her eyes. “Sylvie, you are better than any medal I could ever receive.”

_______________________

As Boden moved on to talk with other people, Casey smiled at who was coming to talk to him. Reaching out, Casey hugged the blonde woman, surprising Brett.

“Sylvie…” Casey said, starting to introduce the two women.

“You get out of the way Matt,” Christie said happily, moving to hug Brett. “I have heard so much about you Sylvie. I’m Christie, Matt’s sister.”

Shocked, Sylvie looked at Casey through narrowed eyes. “She has heard about me Matt?”

“Oh yes.” Violet said, taking her turn to hug Sylvie. “For years now.”

Immediately, Brett knew she was going to like Casey’s family. She was about to start asking them questions when Christie spoke.

“I am sorry you two, but I have to get Vi back to school and I have to get back to work. Sylvie, you need to come to our next family dinner so we can talk more. And Matt, we both are so proud of you.”

“Definitely.” Sylvie said, playfully pinching Matt’s side as he hugged his niece.

__________________

Seeing Casey was almost free, Severide started to make his way to his roommate when Grissom stopped him.

“Hey Kelly. Nice ceremony, don’t you think?”

Severide looked at Grissom through a hardened face. “Did you really offer Casey the Chief’s position at 3?”

Surprised, Grissom took Severide by the elbow and moved him a few feet into a corner. “How did you hear about that? Did Casey tell you?”

“No.” Severide replied. “A guy I know over at 3 called and started asking me all these questions about Casey. Didn’t take long to figure it out.”

“You are to tell NO ONE, do you understand?” Grissom said sternly.

Severide just shook his head before he stormed off.

________________

After the celebration was over and everyone but Casey had changed into their work clothes, Brett and Kidd were sitting in the common room together, while Casey was behind her talking to Hermann. 

“What’s wrong with Severide?” Brett asked.

“I don’t know,” Kidd said while looking down the hallway to see if she could tell where Kelly was. “Someone called him yesterday and as soon as that call was over, he was quiet the rest of the night.”

They looked up to see Boden come in the room. “Casey, Severide, and Hermann. In my office now please.”

Standing up, Casey winked at Brett as he and Hermann made their way to Boden’s office, followed a few seconds later by Severide who came from the apparatus floor. As all three of them settled into Boden’s office, the Chief closed the door.

“I asked all of you to come back here so I could share some news with you. Today, Commissioner Grissom officially extended an offer to Casey to become the Chief of Firehouse 3.”

______________


	28. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Severide finds out about Casey's offer to become Chief of Firehouse 3, Brett and Kidd join the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 28! This fanfic just crossed 10,000 hits, which just absolutely blows me away. Thanks to all of you for letting me take you on this journey with me. This is the last chapter, and tonight I will post an epilogue. I am already working on a new story, so keep your fingers crossed for me.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Back in the common room, Kidd turned to look at Brett. “Wait, did Casey just wink at you?”

Brett started to blush, but decided not to say anything. Yes, Boden already knew, but she wasn’t sure how, or if, Matt wanted to tell everyone else.

Just then they heard a voice.

_______________

“Casey,” Hermann said to his old friend. “That’s fantastic. Congratulations.”

Matt was about to say something when Severide stood up and walked out of the room. Glancing at Boden who gave him the okay, Casey stood up and ran after his friend.

“You can’t be serious, Casey.” Severide said, loud enough for everyone in the common room to hear.

“Let’s go in my office.” Casey suggested.

Standing up in the common room, Kidd looked over at Brett, who was also getting to her feet.

“Shit, this can’t be good.” Stella said as she made her way to Casey and Severide as Brett hurried to catch up.

“Nope.” The blonde PIC replied.

The two women had just got to Casey’s door when he closed it. Opening it, they squeezed into the cramped space. “We figure we should be part of this since you are both going to complain to us about it later.” Kidd stated.

Before Casey could say anything, Kelly did. “You can’t seriously tell me you are going to leave 51 Casey. After everything we have been through?”

Sylvie turned to look at Matt, her uneasiness growing at Severide’s words.

“I never said I was, Severide. They only OFFERED me the job.” Casey said defiantly.

“Wait.” Kidd spoke up. “What job?”

“Chief at Firehouse 3.” Severide said quickly, almost as if the words were stinging his mouth and he had to get them out.

“Really?” Sylvie asked softly. _Casey and I finally get together, and now he is going to leave,_ she wondered?

“They offered me the job Syl. I didn’t take it.” Casey said evenly. 

“But you would be a fool not to.” Severide said, breaking in. “And what happens to all of us when you leave?”

For a moment, Severide, Kidd and Brett all turned to look at Casey, wondering the exact same thing.

“None of you have anything to worry about.” Casey answered quickly. “I am not taking the job.”

For a moment, there was silence, before Sylvie spoke up. “You aren’t?”

“No.” Matt replied, letting his arm wrap around her waist. “I finally have you Sylvie. I was actually sort of looking forward to the possibility of seeing you almost every day.”

“Wait.” Kidd said, her voice rising as she spoke. “Are you two together now?”

Instead of answering, Casey bent down and kissed Brett for the briefest moment, before a smile broke out of both of their faces.

“About damn time.” Kidd said happily.

“So, you are serious?” Kelly asked. “You aren’t taking the job?”

Casey shook his head. “Nope. Don’t you remember all the times we used to talk with Andy about all 3 of us retiring together, hanging out and having our kids be best friends too? I would much rather have that than be Chief at 3. Besides, you all know how much I suck at politics anyway.”

______________

When their conversation broke up, Casey informed Boden of his decision. After that, he and Brett filled out their relationship paperwork.

Right before Casey left to head back home, he saw Sylvie standing in the doorway of his quarters. “I can’t wait until our date tomorrow night.” She said, the smile on her face growing.

“Me either.” Casey replied, before turning serious. “Sylvie, I want you to know that I understand what you just went through. So, just know, I am more than happy to wait until you are ready before we, um, push any boundaries. All that matters is that I love you. Everything else can wait until you are ready.”

Sylvie nodded, admitting to herself that was what she needed to hear. As she walked him out to his car, she couldn’t resist saying something before he left.

“I love you Matt Casey. Thank you for staying at 51 with me.”

“Of course Sylvie. I will always be wherever you are.”

_____________

The next night, Casey showed up at Brett’s apartment and knocked on the door. As soon as Sylvie opened it, she was greeted by a dozen red roses.

“Matt!” Sylvie said happily. “They are beautiful. Thank you.”

As Brett took the flowers from Matt, he got his first look at her. “They are not the only thing that is beautiful Sylvie…so are you.”

Turning from the kitchen to look back at him, Sylvie smiled. She had put a lot of thought into her outfit before settling for her favorite little black dress. As she took in Matt, she admitted he looked really good in his dark jeans, dress shirt, and sport coat.

After Brett put the flowers in a vase with water, she turned back to Matt, seeing him anxiously looking around her apartment.

“Freaking you out to be here again?” Sylvie asked as she played with watch band.

“No, not at all.” Casey replied too quickly.

Walking to him, Sylvie let her arms wrap around his waist, her head resting on his chest. “Well, I would be lying if I didn’t say it freaked me out to be here alone too.”

Lowering his head, Casey kissed the top of Sylvie’s head, appreciating her honesty. “Well, in that case, why don’t we plan on you being here alone as little as possible?”

Laughing, Brett looked up at the man she loved. “Well Captain, I must admit that I was kind of thinking about the same thing before you got here.”

As a smile formed on Casey’s face, he reached down and took Sylvie’s hand. “Well then, I am glad to hear we are both thinking the same way. Why don’t you let me take you on our date and we can talk about all the ways I can make sure you aren’t here at your apartment alone. Sound good?”

Sylvie’s smile turned bigger as she responded. “Definitely Matt. Definitely.”

________________


	29. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue - Two Months Later. Casey and Brett find head back to his house after shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 29, and the last chapter for this fan fic. I would like to thank all of you who took this journey with me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Epilogue

Two Months Later

After shift, Casey and Brett walked hand in hand towards the front door of his house. A house that Sylvie would be moving into as soon as her lease was up. Casey had been true to his word, and he had either tried to stay with Sylvie at her place as much as possible after their first date, or had her stay with him at the loft until he bought his house. After that, she had started to help him decorate, and had crashed at the house more times than she could count.

Unlocking the door, Casey let Brett enter in front of him, then he turned to lock the door behind him. As soon as he turned around, Sylvie’s lips were on his, her tongue already gaining access to his mouth and meeting his tongue as their kiss intensified. Since their fourth date, all the two of them had done was make out like a couple of teenagers. Casey had been true to his word, and had not once pushed Sylvie for anything more. But now, her comfort level with him was something she had never felt before.

Normally, taking the next step with someone had always seemed to bring her worry. But with Matt, it only brought excitement. For some reason, she knew that Matt would love her physically the same way he loved her emotionally…perfectly.

Breaking the kiss, Sylvie took Matt by the hand, leading him upstairs toward his bedroom.

“Are you sure babe?” Casey asked. _God knows how much I want her,_ he thought, _but I want her to be ready._

Brett leaned down a couple of stairs and kissed him hard before pulling away. “I am. Take me to your bedroom and make love to me.”

That was all Casey needed to hear, as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her the remaining 8 or 9 stairs. When they got to his room, he let her stand on her own feet, as they both helped each other take off their clothes slowly, admiring the other as more skin began to show. When they both were standing there, naked, Casey took in the woman that stood before him.

“You are incredible Syl. I love you so much.”

Kissing him again, Brett spoke up as his mouth moved down her neck. “You aren’t too bad yourself Captain. God, I want you.”

Moving towards the bed together, they both fell on it at the same time, their hands exploring parts of each other’s bodies that had been off limits until now. After several minutes of kissing each like their lives depended on it, Casey began to moving down her body, kissing her shoulder blade and then down to her neck. When he could see she was getting more and more turned on, Matt moved lower until he took one of her nipples in his mouth.

“ooohhh.” Sylvie moaned. “I love your mouth Matt.”

Feeling him smile against her skin, she laughed when Casey looked up at her. “Trust me babe. You haven’t seen ANYTHING yet.”

Letting his tongue move down her skin to her taut stomach, Sylvie grabbed his hair as he moved lower until his tongue found her moist center.

“FUCK!” Sylvie groaned, feeling Matt’s ministrations bringing her higher. 

Knowing she was getting close, Casey took his finger and slowly inserted it into her, curling it to find her G spot.

“HOLY SHIT.” Sylvie yelled. Knowing she was almost there, she grinded herself against his mouth and fingers without shame, searching for her high.

As Casey let his tongue find her clit, she knew her orgasm was within reach, finding it after only a minute or so. As she cried out, her body spasming beneath him, Casey held on to what he knew was the love of his life.

After a couple of minutes, Sylvie opened her heavy lids, looking down at Matt. “That was incredible baby. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Casey said, moving up her body to snuggle with her.

_Now that is foreplay_ , Sylvie thought happily, knowing that whatever had happened in her past was just that…the past.

Reaching down, Sylvie took Casey’s manhood in her hand, stroking him as she nibbled on his neck. She was about to move lower on him when he stopped her.

“What babe?” She asked, confused.

“I will cum in about 30 seconds if you go down on me, so let’s save that for another time. All I want now is to be inside of you.”

Loving how Matt thought, Brett kissed Casey hard, tasting herself on his lips. All of the sudden, Casey sat upright.

“Shit!” He said loudly.

Bewildered, Sylvie looked up at him. “What?”

“I don’t have any condoms.” Casey said, his head falling to his chest. “This wasn’t something I was planning on happening.”

For a second, Brett watched Casey beat himself up before she had to stop him. “Honey, I don’t care about a condom. Come make love to me.”

Surprised Matt looked at Sylvie, not understanding. “But… what if you get pregnant?”

Sylvie smiled, knowing she had already given this subject a lot of thought in the months they had been together.

“Well Matt, first I think it would be amazing to have your child. Second, I guess we would be raising a baby together.”

Smiling, Casey bent over and kissed Sylvie with so much passion she thought she might start tearing up. It was like she could feel his love for her in his kiss. Without warning, he entered her, causing her eyes to fly open, finding his burning with intensity.

“You forget one part to your plan Sylvie.” He said as he moved inside her. “You forgot the part about you becoming my wife. You forgot the part about me loving you until the day I died.”

Both of them fully understanding what the other meant, the two of them made love to the person they knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives loving.

And if they had a baby or two on top of that, what would be better than that?

_The End_

__________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for my new story debuting tomorrow morning...The Fury of Words.


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